System for utility usage triggering action

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to using sensors and measurements from sensors to trigger actions within a network. Specifically, various techniques and systems are provided for measuring usage or measurements, using sensors, of utilities or other environmental factors, generating profiles based on the usage or measurements, and triggering actions within a network device based on the usage, measurements and profiles. Embodiments of the present invention may include, for example, compiling historical usage based on the use or measurements detected by a network device and generating a usage profile based on that use or measurements. The normal usage profile may be compared with the usage over a certain predetermined period of time to detect any abnormal use or measurements from the network device, and an action may be taken as a result of an abnormality.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/550,199, filed Nov. 21, 2014, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to using sensors and measurements fromsensors to trigger actions within a network. Specifically, varioustechniques and systems are provided for measuring usage, using sensors,of utilities, generating profiles based on the usage, and triggeringactions within a network device based on the usage and profiles.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention include, for example, acomputer-implemented method. The method comprises compiling, by anetwork device on a network, historical usage data based on the use of autility by the network device; generating a normal usage profile of thenetwork device based on the compiled historical usage data; compilingcurrent usage data based on the use of the utility by the network deviceover a predetermined time period; generating a current usage profile ofthe network device based on the current usage data; comparing thecurrent usage profile to the normal usage profile; determining that thecurrent usage profile is abnormal based on comparing the current usageprofile to the normal usage profile; and updating the normal usageprofile when the current usage profile is determined to be abnormal.

Alternative embodiments of the present invention include, for example, acomputing device. The computing device comprises one or more processors;and a memory having instructions stored thereon, which when executed bythe one or more processors, cause the computing device to performoperations. The operations include compiling, by a network device on anetwork, historical usage data based on the use of a utility by thenetwork device; generating a normal usage profile of the network devicebased on the compiled historical usage data; compiling current usagedata based on the use of the utility by the network device over apredetermined time period; generating a current usage profile of thenetwork device based on the current usage data; comparing the currentusage profile to the normal usage profile; determining that the currentusage profile is abnormal based on comparing the current usage profileto the normal usage profile; and updating the normal usage profile whenthe current usage profile is determined to be abnormal.

Alternative embodiments of the present invention include, for example, anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructionsstored thereon. When executed by a computing device, the instructionscause the computing device to compile, by a network device on a network,historical usage data based on the use of a utility by the networkdevice; generate a normal usage profile of the network device based onthe compiled historical usage data; compile current usage data based onthe use of the utility by the network device over a predetermined timeperiod; generate a current usage profile of the network device based onthe current usage data; comparing the current usage profile to thenormal usage profile; determine that the current usage profile isabnormal based on comparing the current usage profile to the normalusage profile; and update the normal usage profile when the currentusage profile is determined to be abnormal.

Alternative embodiments of the present invention include, for example, acomputer-implemented method. The method comprises compiling, by anetwork device on a network, usage data based on the use of a utility bythe network device; setting a threshold amount of usage based on thecompiled usage data; determining a current usage amount at a currentusage time; comparing the current usage amount to the threshold amountof usage; determining that the current usage amount has exceeded thethreshold amount of usage; analyzing the usage data over a predeterminedtime period, wherein the predetermined time period occurred before orafter or during the current usage time; and determining that, based onthe exceeding of the threshold amount of usage and the analysis of theusage data over the predetermined time period, the network device shouldbe deactivated.

Alternative embodiments of the present invention include, for example, acomputer-implemented method. The method comprises compiling, by anetwork device on a network, usage data based on use of a utility by thenetwork device; wherein the usage data is compiled over a predeterminedtime period; generating a usage profile of the network device based onthe compiled usage data; determining that a current usage data isabnormal based on the usage profile; and transmitting a communicationbased on determination that the current usage data is abnormal, whereinwhen the communication is received, a state of the network device ischanged, and wherein receiving the communication facilitates changingthe state of the network device.

This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features ofthe claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolationto determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject mattershould be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entirespecification of this patent, any or all drawings, and each claim.

The foregoing, together with other features and embodiments, will becomemore apparent upon referring to the following specification, claims, andaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Illustrative embodiments of the present invention are described indetail below with reference to the following drawing figures:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example of a network environment, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process forregistering one or more network devices, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an example of a network environment, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example of a network environment, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of an example of a network environment, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of an example of a front view of a networkdevice, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of an example of a side view of a networkdevice, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an example of a block diagram of a network device, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an access device,in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a server, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a gateway, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a network, according to embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 13A illustrates a table showing example profiles for a showerheadnetwork device, according to example embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 13B illustrates a table showing example profiles for a showerheadnetwork device, according to example embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 13C illustrates a table showing example profiles for a showerheadnetwork device, according to example embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example timeline showing a time at which athreshold was crossed and periods of time before and after the thresholdwas crossed, according to example embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 15A illustrates a graph illustrating the use or status or status ofa utility over time, according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 15B illustrates a graph illustrating the use or status or status ofa utility over time, according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 16 illustrates a graph 1600 showing the use of a utility over time,according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 17 illustrates a network including a network device, a sensor andan access device, according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 18 illustrates example embodiments of a screenshot of an exampleuser interface (UI) display for an application on an access device,according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart showing an example process for a network todetect an abnormal event and to trigger an event at a network deviceusing an indication representative of that abnormal event, according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart showing an example process for a network todetect an abnormal event and to trigger an event at a network deviceusing an indication representative of that abnormal event, according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart showing an example process for a network todetect an abnormal event and to trigger an event at a network deviceusing an indication representative of that abnormal event, according toembodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofembodiments of the invention. However, it will be apparent that variousembodiments may be practiced without these specific details. The figuresand description are not intended to be restrictive.

The ensuing description provides example embodiments only, and is notintended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of thedisclosure. Rather, the ensuing description of the example embodimentswill provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description forimplementing an example embodiment. It should be understood that variouschanges may be made in the function and arrangement of elements withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in theappended claims.

Specific details are given in the following description to provide athorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will beunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments maybe practiced without these specific details. For example, circuits,systems, networks, processes, and other components may be shown ascomponents in block diagram form in order not to obscure the embodimentsin unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-known circuits,processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may be shown withoutunnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments.

Also, it is noted that individual embodiments may be described as aprocess which is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flowdiagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchartmay describe the operations as a sequential process, many of theoperations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition,the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process is terminatedwhen its operations are completed, but could have additional steps notincluded in a figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function,a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process correspondsto a function, its termination can correspond to a return of thefunction to the calling function or the main function.

The term “machine-readable storage medium” or “computer-readable storagemedium” includes, but is not limited to, portable or non-portablestorage devices, optical storage devices, and various other mediumscapable of storing, containing, or carrying instruction(s) and/or data.A machine-readable medium may include a non-transitory medium in whichdata can be stored and that does not include carrier waves and/ortransitory electronic signals propagating wirelessly or over wiredconnections. Examples of a non-transitory medium may include, but arenot limited to, a magnetic disk or tape, optical storage media such ascompact disk (CD) or digital versatile disk (DVD), flash memory, memoryor memory devices. A computer-program product may include code and/ormachine-executable instructions that may represent a procedure, afunction, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, asoftware package, a class, or any combination of instructions, datastructures, or program statements. A code segment may be coupled toanother code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receivinginformation, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents.Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded,or transmitted via any suitable means including memory sharing, messagepassing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software,firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or anycombination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middlewareor microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the necessarytasks (e.g., a computer-program product) may be stored in amachine-readable medium. A processor(s) may perform the necessary tasks.

Systems depicted in some of the figures may be provided in variousconfigurations. In some embodiments, the systems may be configured as adistributed system where one or more components of the system aredistributed across one or more networks in a cloud computing system.

A network may be set up to provide an access device user with access tovarious devices connected to the network. For example, a network mayinclude one or more network devices that provide a user with the abilityto remotely configure or control the network devices themselves or oneor more electronic devices (e.g., appliances) connected to the networkdevices. The electronic devices may be located within an environment ora venue that can support the network. An environment can include, forexample, a home, an office, a business, an automobile, a park, or thelike. A network may include one or more gateways that allow clientdevices (e.g., network devices, access devices, or the like) to accessthe network by providing wired connections and/or wireless connectionsusing radio frequency channels in one or more frequency bands. The oneor more gateways may also provide the client devices with access to oneor more external networks, such as a cloud network, the Internet, and/orother wide area networks.

A local area network, such as a user's home local area network, caninclude multiple network devices that provide various functionalities.Network devices may be accessed and controlled using an access deviceand/or one or more network gateways. One or more gateways in the localarea network may be designated as a primary gateway that provides thelocal area network with access to an external network. The local areanetwork can also extend outside of the user's home and may includenetwork devices located outside of the user's home. For instance, thelocal area network can include network devices such as exterior motionsensors, exterior lighting (e.g., porch lights, walkway lights, securitylights, or the like), garage door openers, sprinkler systems, or othernetwork devices that are exterior to the user's home. It is desirablefor a user to be able to access the network devices while located withinthe local area network and also while located remotely from the localarea network. For example, a user may access the network devices usingan access device within the local area network or remotely from thelocal area network.

In some embodiments, a user may create an account with login informationthat is used to authenticate the user and allow access to the networkdevices. For example, once an account is created, a user may enter thelogin information in order to access a network device in a logicalnetwork.

In some embodiments, an accountless authentication process may beperformed so that the user can access one or more network devices withina logical network without having to enter network device logincredentials each time access is requested. While located locally withinthe local area network, an access device may be authenticated based onthe access device's authentication with the logical network. Forexample, if the access device has authorized access to the logicalnetwork (e.g., a WiFi network provided by a gateway), the networkdevices paired with that logical network may allow the access device toconnect to them without requiring a login. Accordingly, only users ofaccess devices that have authorization to access the logical network areauthorized to access network devices within the logical network, andthese users are authorized without having to provide login credentialsfor the network devices.

An accountless authentication process may also be performed when theuser is remote so that the user can access network devices within thelogical network, using an access device, without having to enter networkdevice login credentials. While remote, the access device may access thenetwork devices in the local area network using an external network,such as a cloud network, the Internet, or the like. One or more gatewaysmay provide the network devices and/or access device connected to thelocal area network with access to the external network. To allowaccountless authentication, a cloud network server may provide a networkID and/or one or more keys to a network device and/or to the accessdevice (e.g., running an application, program, or the like). In somecases, a unique key may be generated for the network device and aseparate unique key may be generated for the access device. The keys maybe specifically encrypted with unique information identifiable only tothe network device and the access device. The network device and theaccess device may be authenticated using the network ID and/or eachdevice's corresponding key each time the network device or access deviceattempts to access the cloud network server.

In some embodiments, a home local area network may include a singlegateway, such as a router. A network device within the local areanetwork may pair with or connect to the gateway and may obtaincredentials from the gateway. For example, when the network device ispowered on, a list of gateways that are detected by the network devicemay be displayed on an access device (e.g., via an application, program,or the like installed on and executed by the access device). In thisexample, only the single gateway is included in the home local areanetwork (e.g., any other displayed gateways may be part of other localarea networks). In some embodiments, only the single gateway may bedisplayed (e.g., when only the single gateway is detected by the networkdevice). A user may select the single gateway as the gateway with whichthe network device is to pair and may enter login information foraccessing the gateway. The login information may be the same informationthat was originally set up for accessing the gateway (e.g., a networkuser name and password, a network security key, or any other appropriatelogin information). The access device may send the login information tothe network device and the network device may use the login informationto pair with the gateway. The network device may then obtain thecredentials from the gateway. The credentials may include a service setidentification (SSID) of the home local area network, a media accesscontrol (MAC) address of the gateway, and/or the like. The networkdevice may transmit the credentials to a server of a wide area network,such as a cloud network server. In some embodiments, the network devicemay also send to the server information relating to the network device(e.g., MAC address, serial number, or the like) and/or informationrelating to the access device (e.g., MAC address, serial number,application unique identifier, or the like).

The cloud network server may register the gateway as a logical networkand may assign the first logical network a network identifier (ID). Thecloud network server may further generate a set of security keys, whichmay include one or more security keys. For example, the server maygenerate a unique key for the network device and a separate unique keyfor the access device. The server may associate the network device andthe access device with the logical network by storing the network ID andthe set of security keys in a record or profile. The cloud networkserver may then transmit the network ID and the set of security keys tothe network device. The network device may store the network ID and itsunique security key. The network device may also send the network ID andthe access device's unique security key to the access device. In someembodiments, the server may transmit the network ID and the accessdevice's security key directly to the access device. The network deviceand the access device may then communicate with the cloud server usingthe network ID and the unique key generated for each device.Accordingly, the access device may perform accountless authentication toallow the user to remotely access the network device via the cloudnetwork without logging in each time access is requested. Also, thenetwork device can communicate with the server regarding the logicalnetwork.

In some embodiments, a local area network may include multiple gateways(e.g., a router and a range extender) and multiple network devices. Forexample, a local area network may include a first gateway paired with afirst network device, and a second gateway paired with a second networkdevice. In the event credentials for each gateway are used to create alogical network, a server (e.g., a cloud network server) may registerthe first gateway as a first logical network and may register the secondgateway as a second logical network. The server may generate a firstnetwork ID and a first set of security keys for the first logicalnetwork. The first set of security keys may include a unique securitykey for the first network device and a unique security key for theaccess device for use in accessing the first network device on the firstlogical network. The server may register the second gateway as thesecond logical network due to differences in the credentials between thefirst gateway and second gateway. The server may assign the secondgateway a second network ID and may generate a second set of securitykeys. For example, the server may generate a unique security key for thesecond network device and may generate a unique security key for theaccess device for use in accessing the second network device on thesecond logical network. The server may associate the first networkdevice and the access device with the first logical network by storingthe first network ID and the first set of security keys in a firstrecord or profile. The server may also associate the second networkdevice and the access device with the second logical network by storingthe second network ID and the second set of security keys in a record orprofile. The server may then transmit the first network ID and the firstset of security keys to the first network device, and may transmit thesecond network ID and the second set of security keys to the secondnetwork device. The two network devices may store the respective networkID and set of security keys of the gateway with which each networkdevice is connected. Each network device may send the respective networkID and the access device's unique security key to the access device. Thenetwork devices and the access device may then communicate with thecloud server using the respective network ID and the unique keygenerated for each device.

Accordingly, when multiple gateways are included in the home local areanetwork, multiple logical networks associated with different networkidentifiers may be generated for the local area network. When the accessdevice is located within range of both gateways in the local areanetwork, there is no problem accessing both network devices due to theability of the access device to perform local discovery techniques(e.g., universal plug and play (UPnP)). However, when the user islocated remotely from the local area network, the access device may onlybe associated with one logical network at a time, which prevents theaccess device from accessing network devices of other logical networkswithin the local area network.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a local area network 100. The localarea network 100 includes network device 102, network device 104, andnetwork device 106. In some embodiments, any of the network devices 102,104, 106 may include an Internet of Things (IoT) device. As used herein,an IoT device is a device that includes sensing and/or controlfunctionality as well as a WiFi™ transceiver radio or interface, aBluetooth™ transceiver radio or interface, a Zigbee™ transceiver radioor interface, an Ultra-Wideband (UWB) transceiver radio or interface, aWiFi-Direct transceiver radio or interface, a Bluetooth™ Low Energy(BLE) transceiver radio or interface, an infrared (IR) transceiver,and/or any other wireless network transceiver radio or interface thatallows the IoT device to communicate with a wide area network and withone or more other devices. In some embodiments, an IoT device does notinclude a cellular network transceiver radio or interface, and thus maynot be configured to directly communicate with a cellular network. Insome embodiments, an IoT device may include a cellular transceiverradio, and may be configured to communicate with a cellular networkusing the cellular network transceiver radio. The network devices 102,104, 106, as IoT devices or other devices, may include home automationnetwork devices that allow a user to access, control, and/or configurevarious home appliances located within the user's home (e.g., atelevision, radio, light, fan, humidifier, sensor, microwave, iron,and/or the like), or outside of the user's home (e.g., exterior motionsensors, exterior lighting, garage door openers, sprinkler systems, orthe like). For example, network device 102 may include a home automationswitch that may be coupled with a home appliance. In some embodiments,network devices 102, 104, 106 may be used in other environments, such asa business, a school, an establishment, a park, or any place that cansupport the local area network 100 to enable communication with networkdevices 102, 104, 106. For example, a network device can allow a user toaccess, control, and/or configure devices, such as office-relateddevices (e.g., copy machine, printer, fax machine, or the like), audioand/or video related devices (e.g., a receiver, a speaker, a projector,a DVD player, a television, or the like), media-playback devices (e.g.,a compact disc player, a CD player, or the like), computing devices(e.g., a home computer, a laptop computer, a tablet, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a computing device, a wearable device, or the like),lighting devices (e.g., a lamp, recessed lighting, or the like), devicesassociated with a security system, devices associated with an alarmsystem, devices that can be operated in an automobile (e.g., radiodevices, navigation devices), and/or the like.

A user may communicate with the network devices 102, 104, 106 using anaccess device 108. The access device 108 may include anyhuman-to-machine interface with network connection capability thatallows access to a network. For example, the access device 108 mayinclude a stand-alone interface (e.g., a cellular telephone, asmartphone, a home computer, a laptop computer, a tablet, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a computing device, a wearable device such as asmart watch, a wall panel, a keypad, or the like), an interface that isbuilt into an appliance or other device e.g., a television, arefrigerator, a security system, a game console, a browser, or thelike), a speech or gesture interface (e.g., a Kinect™ sensor, aWiimote™, or the like), an IoT device interface (e.g., an Internetenabled device such as a wall switch, a control interface, or othersuitable interface), or the like. In some embodiments, the access device108 may include a cellular or other broadband network transceiver radioor interface, and may be configured to communicate with a cellular orother broadband network using the cellular or broadband networktransceiver radio. In some embodiments, the access device 108 may notinclude a cellular network transceiver radio or interface. While only asingle access device 108 is shown in FIG. 1, one of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate that multiple access devices may communicatewith the network devices 102, 104, 106. The user may interact with thenetwork devices 102, 104, or 106 using an application, a web browser, aproprietary program, or any other program executed and operated by theaccess device 108. In some embodiments, the access device 108 maycommunicate directly with the network devices 102, 104, 106 (e.g.,communication signal 116). For example, the access device 108 maycommunicate directly with network device 102, 104, 106 using Zigbee™signals, Bluetooth™ signals, WiFi™ signals, infrared (IR) signals, UWBsignals, WiFi-Direct signals, BLE signals, sound frequency signals, orthe like. In some embodiments, the access device 108 may communicatewith the network devices 102, 104, 106 via the gateways 110, 112 (e.g.,communication signal 118) and/or the cloud network 114 (e.g.,communication signal 120).

The local area network 100 may include a wireless network, a wirednetwork, or a combination of a wired and wireless network. A wirelessnetwork may include any wireless interface or combination of wirelessinterfaces (e.g., Zigbee™, Bluetooth™, WiFi™, IR, UWB, WiFi-Direct, BLE,cellular, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), WiMax™, or the like). A wirednetwork may include any wired interface (e.g., fiber, ethernet,powerline ethernet, ethernet over coaxial cable, digital signal line(DSL), or the like). The wired and/or wireless networks may beimplemented using various routers, access points, bridges, gateways, orthe like, to connect devices in the local area network 100. For example,the local area network may include gateway 110 and gateway 112. Gateway110 or 112 can provide communication capabilities to network devices102, 104, 106 and/or access device 108 via radio signals in order toprovide communication, location, and/or other services to the devices.The gateway 110 is directly connected to the external network 114 andmay provide other gateways and devices in the local area network withaccess to the external network 114. The gateway 110 may be designated asa primary gateway. While two gateways 110 and 112 are shown in FIG. 1,one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that any number ofgateways may be present within the local area network 100.

The network access provided by gateway 110 and gateway 112 may be of anytype of network familiar to those skilled in the art that can supportdata communications using any of a variety of commercially-availableprotocols. For example, gateways 110, 112 may provide wirelesscommunication capabilities for the local area network 100 usingparticular communications protocols, such as WiFi™ (e.g., IEEE 802.11family standards, or other wireless communication technologies, or anycombination thereof). Using the communications protocol(s), the gateways110, 112 may provide radio frequencies on which wireless enabled devicesin the local area network 100 can communicate. A gateway may also bereferred to as a base station, an access point, Node B, Evolved Node B(eNodeB), access point base station, a Femtocell, home base station,home Node B, home eNodeB, or the like.

The gateways 110, 112 may include a router, a modem, a range extendingdevice, and/or any other device that provides network access among oneor more computing devices and/or external networks. For example, gateway110 may include a router or access point, and gateway 112 may include arange extending device. Examples of range extending devices may includea wireless range extender, a wireless repeater, or the like.

A router gateway may include access point and router functionality, andmay further include an Ethernet switch and/or a modem. For example, arouter gateway may receive and forward data packets among differentnetworks. When a data packet is received, the router gateway may readidentification information (e.g., a media access control (MAC) address)in the packet to determine the intended destination for the packet. Therouter gateway may then access information in a routing table or routingpolicy, and may direct the packet to the next network or device in thetransmission path of the packet. The data packet may be forwarded fromone gateway to another through the computer networks until the packet isreceived at the intended destination.

A range extending gateway may be used to improve signal range andstrength within a local area network. The range extending gateway mayreceive an existing signal from a router gateway or other gateway andmay rebroadcast the signal to create an additional logical network. Forexample, a range extending gateway may extend the network coverage ofthe router gateway when two or more devices on the local area networkneed to be connected with one another, but the distance between one ofthe devices and the router gateway is too far for a connection to beestablished using the resources from the router gateway. As a result,devices outside of the coverage area of the router gateway may be ableto connect through the repeated network provided by the range extendinggateway. The router gateway and range extending gateway may exchangeinformation about destination addresses using a dynamic routingprotocol.

The gateways 110 and 112 may also provide the access device 108 and thenetwork devices 102, 104, 106 with access to one or more externalnetworks, such as the cloud network 114, the Internet, and/or other widearea networks. In some embodiments, the network devices 102, 104, 106may connect directly to the cloud network 114, for example, usingbroadband network access such as a cellular network. The cloud network114 may include a cloud infrastructure system that provides cloudservices. In certain embodiments, services provided by the cloud network114 may include a host of services that are made available to users ofthe cloud infrastructure system on demand, such as registration andaccess control of network devices 102, 104, 106. Services provided bythe cloud infrastructure system can dynamically scale to meet the needsof its users. The cloud network 114 may comprise one or more computers,servers, and/or systems. In some embodiments, the computers, servers,and/or systems that make up the cloud network 114 are different from theuser's own on-premises computers, servers, and/or systems. For example,the cloud network 114 may host an application, and a user may, via acommunication network such as the Internet, on demand, order and use theapplication.

In some embodiments, the cloud network 114 may host a Network AddressTranslation (NAT) Traversal application in order to establish a secureconnection between the cloud network 114 and one or more of the networkdevices 102, 104, 106. For example, a separate secure TransmissionControl Protocol (TCP) connection may be established by each networkdevice 102, 104, 106 for communicating between each network device 102,104, 106 and the cloud network 114. In some embodiments, each secureconnection may be kept open for an indefinite period of time so that thecloud network 114 can initiate communications with each respectivenetwork device 102, 104, or 106 at any time. In some cases, other typesof communications between the cloud network 114 and the network devices102, 104, 106 and/or the access device 108 may be supported using othertypes of communication protocols, such as a Hypertext Transfer Protocol(HTTP) protocol, a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) protocol,or the like. In some embodiments, communications initiated by the cloudnetwork 114 may be conducted over the TCP connection, and communicationsinitiated by a network device may be conducted over a HTTP or HTTPSconnection. In certain embodiments, the cloud network 114 may include asuite of applications, middleware, and database service offerings thatare delivered to a customer in a self-service, subscription-based,elastically scalable, reliable, highly available, and secure manner.

It should be appreciated that the local area network 100 may have othercomponents than those depicted. Further, the embodiment shown in thefigure is only one example of a local area network that may incorporatean embodiment of the invention. In some other embodiments, local areanetwork 100 may have more or fewer components than shown in the figure,may combine two or more components, or may have a differentconfiguration or arrangement of components.

Upon being powered on or reset, the network devices 102, 104, 106 may beregistered with the cloud network 114 and associated with a logicalnetwork within the local area network 100. FIG. 2 illustrates an exampleof a process 200 for registering one or more network devices, such asthe network devices 102, 104, 106 illustrated in FIG. 1. When multiplenetwork devices 102, 104, 106 and gateways 110, 112 are included withina local area network, the network devices and/or gateways may beinstalled at different times, resulting in the techniques described withrespect to FIG. 2 possibly occurring for each network device and/orgateway at different points in time. For example, a user may installnetwork device 102 at a first point in time on a first floor of theuser's house. Gateway 110 may also be located on the first floor,resulting in the network device 102 pairing with gateway 110. The usermay later install gateway 112 and network device 106 on a second floorof the user's home, resulting in the network device 106 pairing withgateway 112.

At 202, a network device may detect one or more gateways upon beingpowered on or reset. In some embodiments, a provisioning process mayoccur when the network device is powered on or reset and detected by anaccess device (e.g., access device 108). During the provisioningprocess, the access device may directly communicate with the networkdevice. In some embodiments, direct communication between networkdevices (e.g., network devices 102, 104, 106) and access device (e.g.,access device 108) may occur using various communications protocols,such as Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), Bluetooth®, Zigbee®,Ultra-Wideband (UWB), WiFi-Direct, WiFi, Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE),sound frequencies, and/or the like.

The provisioning process may include pairing the network device with agateway and registering the gateway, network device, and access devicewith a server, such as a server located within the cloud network 114.For example, upon being powered on or reset to factory settings, thenetwork device may send or broadcast identification information to oneor more access devices. The identification information may be sentduring a discovery process. For example, the identification informationmay be sent in response to a discovery request from an access device. Insome cases, the identification information may include a name of thenetwork device.

An application, program, or the like that is installed on and executedby the access device may receive the identification information from thenetwork device. When the application on the access device is launched bya user, the access device may display the identification information forselection by the user. Once the network device identificationinformation is selected, the access device may send a signal to thenetwork device indicating that it has been selected. The network devicemay then send to the access device a list of gateways that are detectedby the network device. The access device may receive and display thelist of gateways. In some embodiments, the list of gateways includesmultiple gateways (e.g., gateways 110 and 112) that are located withinthe local area network. The user may select the gateway that the userwishes for the network device to pair. For example, the gateway thatprovides the best signal strength for the network device may beselected. The access device may then prompt the user to enter logininformation that is required for accessing the network signals providedby the selected gateway. For example, the login information may be thesame information that was originally set up to access the gatewaynetwork signals (e.g., when the gateway was initially installed). Onceentered, the access device may send the login information to the networkdevice. The network device may use the login information to pair withthe selected gateway. As one example, network device 102 and networkdevice 104 may be paired with gateway 110, and network device 106 may bepaired with gateway 112.

Once paired with a gateway, the network device may be registered with acloud network (e.g., cloud network 114). For example, the access device(e.g., via the application, program, or the like) may instruct thenetwork device to register with the cloud network upon receivingconfirmation from the network device that it has been successfullypaired with a gateway. At 204, the network device may obtain credentialsfrom the gateway as part of the registration process. For example,network device 102 may obtain credentials from gateway 110. At a same orlater point in time, network devices 104 and 106 may obtain credentialsfrom gateways 110 and 112, respectively. In some embodiments, thecredentials may include a SSID of the local area network and a MACaddress of the gateway. An SSID received from two gateways (e.g.,gateways 110, 112) may be the same due to the gateways both being withinthe same local area network. In some cases, the SSID of the two gatewaysmay be different. The MAC address of each of the gateways may be uniqueto each gateway. As a result of each gateway having a unique MACaddress, the credentials obtained from a gateway may be unique to thatparticular gateway. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciatethat other credentials may be obtained from a gateway, such as anInternet Protocol address, or the like.

The network device may then send the gateway credentials to the cloudnetwork at 206. For example, the network devices 102, 104, 106 may sendcredentials for the gateway with which each is paired to the serverlocated within the cloud network 114. For example, network device 102may transmit the credentials obtained from gateway 110 to the server,and network device 106 may transmit the credentials obtained fromgateway 112 to the server. In some embodiments, the network device mayalso send information relating to the network device (e.g., MAC address,serial number, make, model number, firmware version, and/or an interfacemodule identifier, or the like) to the server, and/or informationrelating to the access device (e.g., MAC address, serial number,application unique identifier, or the like) to the server. In someembodiments, the communication of the credentials, the network deviceinformation, and/or the access device information sent from the networkdevice to the cloud network server may be in a Hypertext TransferProtocol (HTTP) format, a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS)format, a secure Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) format, or thelike. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that othercommunication formats may be used to communicate between the networkdevice and the cloud network server.

Once the credentials, network device information, and/or access deviceinformation are received by the server, the server may register eachgateway as a logical network within the local area network and maygenerate a network ID for each logical network. For example, the servermay register the gateway 110 as a first logical network. During theregistration process, the server may generate a first network ID foridentifying the first logical network. As noted above, one of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that any number of gateways may bepresent within the local area network, and thus that any number oflogical networks may be registered for the local area network. Theserver may further generate a first set of security keys forauthenticating the network device and the access device. For example,the server may generate a unique key for the network device 102 and aseparate unique key for the access device 108.

In some embodiments, as previously described, network device 104 mayalso be paired with gateway 110 at the same or a later point in time asthe network device 102. During registration of the network device 104,the server may determine that the access device 108 has already beenregistered with another network device (e.g., network device 102) thatis associated with the same logical network of gateway 110. In suchembodiments, the server may retrieve the first network ID that was usedin registering the first logical network. The server may also generate anew unique security key for the network device 104, and may retrieve theunique key that was previously generated for the access device 108 whenregistering the gateway 110 as the first logical network.

The gateway 112 may also be registered by the server as a second logicalnetwork with a second network ID. A second set of security keys may begenerated for the network device 106 and the access device 108. Forexample, the server may generate a unique security key for the networkdevice 106 and a unique security key for the access device 108 as itrelates to the second logical network. In some embodiments, the gatewaymay 112 be installed at a later point in time after the gateway 110 isinstalled, and thus may be registered as the second logical network atthe later point in time.

A record or profile may then be created for associating each network IDwith the credentials of a corresponding gateway, the correspondingnetwork device(s), and the access device. For example, the server of thecloud network 114 may associate the first network ID with thecredentials of gateway 110. Similarly, the server may associate thesecond network ID with the credentials of gateway 112. In someembodiments, the server performs the association by generating andstoring a record including the network ID, the set of security keys, thegateway credentials, the network devices associated with the network ID(e.g., MAC address or serial number of a network device), the accessdevices associated with the network ID (e.g., MAC address, serialnumber, application unique identifier, or the like), and/or any otherinformation relevant to the network devices and/or gateways. Forexample, the server may store the first network ID and the first set ofsecurity keys in a first record at a first memory space (e.g., in Flash,DRAM, a database, or the like) along with the SSID and MAC address forgateway 110 and an identifier of the network devices 102 and/or 104. Theserver may also store the second network ID and the second set ofsecurity keys in a second record at a second memory space along with theSSID and MAC address for gateway 112 and an identifier of the networkdevice 106. In some embodiments, an example of a network deviceidentifier may include a MAC address of the network device, a serialnumber of the network device, or any other unique identifier.

Each of the first and second network IDs may include a unique number oralphanumeric string generated sequentially or randomly. For example, thefirst time a network device and an associated gateway are registered onthe cloud network 114, the unique network ID for the logical network ofthe gateway may start with 7000000. Each subsequent logical network thatis created may be a sequential increment of the initial network ID(e.g., 7000001, 7000002, 7000003, etc.). As another example, the networkID may be generated by a random or pseudo-random number generator. Oneof ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other techniques forgenerating a unique ID may be used. The technique used to generate thenetwork IDs may be dependent on a type of database that is included inthe cloud network 114. For example, different databases may havedifferent proprietary mechanisms for creating a unique identifier.

The set of keys generated for each logical network may be generatedusing database specific technique. For example, a MySQL technique may beused to generate the sets of keys. Each key may include a universallyunique identifier (UUID) or a globally unique identifier (GUID). Asdescribed above, for each logical network, the server may generate aunique key for a network device and a separate unique key for an accessdevice.

At 208, the network device may receive the network ID and the set ofsecurity keys. For example, once the server has generated a record orprofile associating the network device 102 with the first logicalnetwork, the server may transmit the first network ID and the first setof security keys to the network device 102. The network device 102 maystore the first network ID and one or more keys of the first set ofkeys. For example, the network device 102 may store the unique securitykey that was created by the server for the network device 102.

As noted previously, the network devices 102, 104, 106 and gateways 110,112 may be installed at different times. For example, in someembodiments, network device 104 may be installed at a point in timeafter the first logical network is created based on the pairing betweengateway 110 and network device 102. In such embodiments, upon beingpowered on, the network device 104 may pair with gateway 110, obtaincredentials from gateway 110, and transmit the credentials to the serverin the cloud network 114 using similar techniques as those describedabove. The server may associate the network device 104 with thepreviously generated first network ID. As described above, the servermay also generate a new unique security key for the network device 104,and may retrieve the unique key that was previously generated for theaccess device 108 when registering the first logical network. Thenetwork device 104 may then receive and store the first network ID andthe security keys from the server.

At 210, the network device may send the network ID and the set ofsecurity keys to the access device. For example, the network device 102may send to the access device 108 the first network ID and the uniquesecurity key generated for the access device 108. The network device 102and the access device 108 may then communicate with the cloud networkserver using the first network ID and each device's unique key. In someembodiments, the network device and the access device may generate asignature using their respective security key. The signature is sent tothe cloud network server along with a communication from the networkdevice or access device. The cloud network server may process thesignature in order to authenticate each device, as described below. Thenetwork device and access device may use different techniques togenerate a signature.

A network device may generate a signature using its uniquely generatedsecurity key. For example, the signature may be expressed as:Authorization=MacAddress”:“Signature”: “ExpirationTime. TheAuthorization term may be an attribute, and the MacAddress, Signature,and ExpirationTime terms may include values for the Authorizationattribute. In particular, the MacAddress value may include the MACaddress of the network device, which may include a unique alphanumericor numeric string. The network device may retrieve its MAC address frommemory and place it in the MacAddress field. The Signature value may beexpressed as: Signature=Base64(HMAC-SHA1 (PrivateKey, StringToSign)).The Signature value may include an alphanumeric or numeric string.HMAC-SHA1 is an open source technique that includes a Hash-based MessageAuthentication Code (HMAC) using a SHA1 hash function. The HMAC-SHA1technique uses the values PrivateKey and StringToSign as inputs. ThePrivateKey input includes the unique security key that was generated bythe server for the network device. The StringToSign input may beexpressed asStringToSign=MacAddress+“\n”+SerialNumber+“\n”+ExpirationTime.Accordingly, the StringToSign input is generated by appending a serialnumber of the network device and an expiration time to the networkdevice's MAC address. The ExpirationTime term may indicate the period oftime for which the signature is valid. In some embodiments, theExpirationTime term may include a current time at which the signature isgenerated plus period of time for which the signature is valid. In oneexample, the ExpirationTime term may be expressed asExpirationTime=Number of seconds since Jan. 1, 1970.

The network device may place the signature in a data packet fortransmission with a communication signal to the cloud network server.The network device may also place the network ID in the data packet. Thesignature and the network ID, if included, may be used by the cloudnetwork server to verify that the network device is associated with thelogical network. In some embodiments, a signature is provided with eachcommunication sent from the network device to the server. Once thesignature is received by the server, the server generates a signatureusing the same expression as that used by the network device. Forexample, the server may retrieve the network device's key and otherrelevant information from storage and generate the signature using thekey and the other information using the expression described above. Theserver then verifies whether the signatures match. Upon determining thatthe signatures match, the server authenticates the network device'scommunication.

An access device may also generate a signature using its uniquelygenerated security key. For example, the access device signature may beexpressed as: Authorization=SDU UniqueId”:“Signature”:“ExpirationTime.The Authorization term may be an attribute, and the SDU UniqueId,Signature, and ExpirationTime terms may include values for theAuthorization attribute. The SDU UniqueId term may include a uniquephone identifier. The SDU UniqueId value may depend on the type ofaccess device that is used and the type of values that may be accessedand/or generated by the type of access device. In some cases, one typeof access device may not allow an application to access a uniqueidentifier of the access device (e.g., a serial number, UUID, or thelike). In such cases, the SDU UniqueId value may include a valuegenerated by an application or program installed on and executed on theaccess device that is used to access the network device. The value maybe unique to the application or program that generated the value. Inother cases, another type of access device may allow an application toaccess a unique identifier of the access device. In such cases, the SDUUniqueId value may include a value that is unique to the access deviceitself, such as a serial number, UUID, or the like. In this example, theaccess device may retrieve the unique value from storage within theaccess device. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate thatother unique identifiers may be used to uniquely identify the accessdevice. The Signature value may be expressed as:Signature=Base64(HMAC-SHA1(PrivateKey, StringToSign)). Using thisexpression, the input to the HMAC-SHA1 technique may include aPrivateKey term and a StringToSign term. The PrivateKey input includesthe unique security key that was generated by the server for the accessdevice with regard to a particular logical network. The StringToSigninput may be expressed as StringToSign=UniqueId+“\n”+“\n”+ExpirationTime. The StringToSign value is different from the StringToSign valuegenerated by network device in that no serial number is included.Accordingly, the StringToSign input is generated by appending anexpiration time to the access device's unique identifier. TheExpirationTime term may indicate the period of time for which thesignature is valid, similar to that above for the signature generated bythe network device.

The access device may place the signature in a data packet and maytransmit the data packet to the cloud network server with acommunication signal. The network device may also place the network IDin the data packet. The signature and the network ID, if included, maybe used by the cloud network server to verify that the access device isassociated with the logical network and authorized to communicate withone or more network devices associated with the logical network. In someembodiments, a signature is provided with each communication sent fromthe access device to the server. The cloud server may receive thesignature and may generate a signature using the same expression as thatused by the access device. For example, the server may retrieve theaccess device's key and other relevant information from storage andgenerate the signature using the key and the other information using theexpression described above. The server then verifies whether thesignatures match. Upon determining that the signatures match, the serverauthenticates the access device and allows it to communicate with one ormore of the network devices associated with logical network.

Once the provisioning process is completed, the access device 108 mayaccess the network device 102 locally via the gateway 110 (e.g.,communication signal 118) or remotely via the cloud network 114 (e.g.,communication signal 120). In some embodiments, the communicationbetween the access device 108 and the cloud network 114 may be a HTTP orHTTPS communication. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciatethat other communication mechanisms may be used to communicate betweenthe access device 108 and the cloud network 114.

The network 100 may enable a user to monitor and/or control operation ofthe devices 102 and 104. For example, a user may monitor and/or controloperation of devices by interacting with a visual interface of thegateway 110 (i.e., a web page for gateway 110) and/or a visual interfacerendered on a display of an access device, such as access device 108. Insome embodiments, an application may be run on the access device. Theapplication may cause the access device to present a graphical interfacethat includes a visual interface for each device accessible on thenetwork 100.

A network device may generate and/or provide a “status” of the networkdevice. In certain embodiments, the status or state of a network devicecan be indicated on a visual interface on the access device, for examplewithin the tile with text and/or graphically. The status of the networkdevice can change based on time (e.g., a period, an interval, or othertime schedule). The status of a network device may be any piece ofinformation pertinent to that particular network device. The status of anetwork device may be any changeable variable of that particular networkdevice. For example, the status of a network device may include a stateof the-network device itself (e.g., on or off) or how the network deviceis situated within the network with respect to the other network andother network devices throughout the network. For example, the status ofa network device may refer to the network device's proximity to anothernetwork device and/or its ability to communicate with another networkdevice because of the relative signal strength between the two networkdevices. In certain embodiments, the status can include a value or someother information indicating a unit of measure for a setting or anattribute related to operation of a device connected to the networkdevice. The setting or the attribute can be adjustable within a range ofvalues. For example, the device connected to the network device can be alight bulb and the status can include a value corresponding tobrightness (e.g., a percentage of total brightness) emitted by the lightbulb when the light bulb is powered-on. In another example, the devicecan be a motion sensor and the status can include a value correspondingto sensitivity of the sensor in a range of values between 0 to 100 whenthe sensor is powered on. In yet another example, the device can be afan and the status can include a value corresponding to a speed of thefan on a scale of 0 to 100 when the fan is powered-on.

As described above, upon being powered on or reset, the-network devices102 and/or 104 may be registered with the cloud network 114 andassociated with a logical network within the local area network 100.Similarly, upon being powered or switched off or otherwise beingdisconnected from the network 100, the status of the-network device 102would be known and stored by a cache (not shown) associated with thenetwork 100. For example, cloud network 114 may include storage (e.g.cache) that stores the status of the network devices within each localarea network 100 it is connected to and/or provides access to. Inanother example, the gateway 110 may include storage that stores thestatus of the network devices within each local area network it isconnected to and/or provides access to. More specifically, the statusstored in the cache may include a status table which indicates thecurrent status of each network device (as of its last communication witheach network device). A status table may include all statuses ofeach-network device, or individual storage tables for each local areanetwork or other subset of its network devices/networks. In oneembodiment, a change in status may prompt the-network device to push itschange in in status to the cloud network 114 for storage or updating ofthe cloud's stored status table. In another embodiment, cloud network114 and/or gateway 110 may continuously (or periodically) communicatewith each-network device to check to see if its status has changed.

In some embodiments, a network device (e.g. network device 102 and/or104) may, upon connecting to the local area network 100, check thestatus of the-network devices on the network 100. In other embodiments,one-network device may check the status of one or more of the othernetwork devices on the network 100. The network device may seek to checkthe status of another network device or access device for variousreasons, including to display such status(es) to a user on a display orotherwise, to check whether that network device belongs to the samenetwork, to synchronize or coordinate any scheduled executions, toupdate an attribute based on adjustment received among others. Forexample, a network device or user may desire to check various statuseson a connected device, such as power level, timestamped activity history(e.g. temperature for a thermostat, motion for a motion detector, etc.),how long it has been active/turned on, attributes for operation of theconnected device (e.g., a brightness of a lamp, a speed of a fan, or asensitivity of a sensor, etc.), among many others.

In some embodiments, a device, such as the access device 108 shown inFIG. 1 or the gateway 110, connected to the network 100 can communicatean updated status of a network device, such as the network devices 102and/or 104. The updated status can be communicated via the network 100and can include an adjustment that affects a status of the networkdevice. The adjustment can include an amount of change to one or moreattributes, one or more settings, or a combination thereof related tooperation of the network device connected to the network 100. The accessdevice 108 or the gateway 110 can present a graphical interface that canreceive input corresponding to an adjustment to a status of a device. Insome embodiments, the updated status of the network device communicatedto the network 100 can be received by a network device to which theupdated status applies, or can be received by the gateway 110, the cloudnetwork 110, or any other device in communication with the network. Ifthe device cannot directly receive the updated status, it can alsoreceive the updated status from the cloud network 114, the gateway 110,or the other devices in the network 100. In some embodiments, thenetwork device can communicate its updated status to the network 100,which can indicate whether the status has been updated. The updatedstatus can be received by the access device or any other device in thenetwork 100. In some embodiments where the access device is not locatedwithin the network 100, the access device may not immediately receivethe updated status. The updated status can be stored by the cloudnetwork 114 or the gateway 110 for communication to the access device.The status of the network device can indicate whether an adjustment wasmade based on an adjustment in a setting or an attribute transmitted bythe access device. Alternatively, or additionally, the access device canreceive, from any other network device connected to the network 100, astatus update indicating whether the adjustment was in fact made at anetwork device.

A network device seeking to check the status of any other device on thenetwork 100 may communicate with the cloud network 114, to which alldevices on the network 100 are connected either directly or indirectly.Since the cloud network 114 and/or the gateway 110 can store an updatedtable/list of the statuses of each of the network devices 102 and 104within the requesting network's local area network, the cloud network114 and/or gateway 110 may communicate such status data to the networkdevices 102 and 104 and the access device. For example, if-networkdevices 102 and 104 were to each turn on and communicate their statusesto cloud network 114, cloud network 114 may analyze the status ofnetwork devices 102 and 104 and communicate to-network devices 102 and104 that they are each connected to the same local area network 100.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a network 300, according to embodimentsof the present invention. Specifically, the network 300 can be awireless local area network enabling an access device to communicatewith network devices to control adjustment of attributes related tooperation of the network devices. Network 300 includes network device302, network device 304, network device 306, and network device 308. Thenetwork 300 also includes access device 108. In other words, the network300 may be substantially similar to the network 100 except that accessdevice 108 has been turned on near the network 300, to which it isassociated, or has entered an area to which the network 300 can reach.

When access device 108 can enter the network 300 as shown in FIG. 3,access device 108 may be authenticated based on the access device'sauthentication with the logical network or may otherwise commencecommunication with cloud network 114. Access device 108 may alsocommunicate notification of its presence or other information directlyto other network devices 302-308 within network 300, as shown in FIG. 3by communication paths 330. As noted, such communication may includevarious communications protocols, such as Universal Plug and Play(UPnP), Bluetooth®, Zigbee®, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), WiFi-Direct, WiFi,Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE), sound frequencies, and/or the like. Forexample, access device 108 may communicate to all other devices innetwork 300, including network device 302, network device 304, networkdevice 306, and network device 308, information/data regarding itsstatus. Such status data may include the fact that it is present andturned on, or other status data/information. At any time that networkdevices 302, 304, 306 and 308 recognize that access device 108 ispresent at network 300, the network devices may communicate back toaccess device 108. For example, the network devices may send anacknowledgement (e.g., ACK signal) back to access device 108 to confirmthat they received the status data sent by access device 108. Thenetwork devices may also send their own status data to access device108.

While network devices 302-308 and access device 108 may each receivecommunication from other network devices around the network 300,including the status of each of those network devices, network devices302-308 and/or access device 108 may be continuously scanning network300 (including, for example, running discovery algorithms) to determinewhether any devices within the network have moved, turned on/off orotherwise added to or subtracted from the network 300, or have otherwisechanged statuses.

Since network devices 302-308 and access device 108 may each receivecommunication from other devices around network 300, including thestatus of each of those devices, each network device within network 300may know the status of each other network device in the network 300. Forexample, access device 108 or devices 302-308 may not be required tocommunicate with cloud network 114 in order to obtain one or more ofsuch statuses. Since cloud network 114 is an external network and may beremote from network 300, communication between network devices withinthe network 300 and cloud 114 may take more time than communicationbetween two devices within network 300. For example, communicationbetween devices within network 300 may take anywhere from 1 millisecondto 100 milliseconds, while communication between a device within network300 and the cloud network 114 may take anywhere from 50 milliseconds to1 second or more). Furthermore, if a network device is retrievinginformation from cloud 114, the request must travel from the networkdevice to cloud network 114, and then the information must travel backfrom cloud network 114 to the network device. This process may doublethe latency caused by retrieving information with cloud 114. Therefore,devices within the network 300 may choose to send and receive/retrievestatuses directly with other devices within the network 300 instead ofcommunicating such information via cloud network 114. When a networkdevice receives status data from another network device on the device'slocal area network 300, it may store that status data so that it mayretrieve and use that status data at a later time.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a network 400, according to embodimentsof the present invention. The local area network 400 may include networkdevice 302, network device 304, network device 306, network device 308,and access device 108. FIG. 4 also illustrates that one or more networkdevices 302-308 and/or access device 108 may include a storage device,such as a cache, for storing data, including data regarding its ownstatus and data regarding statuses received from the other deviceswithin local area network 400. For example, access device 108 may, afterbeing powered up, broadcast/send its status to network device 308 viacommunication 434. Network device 308 may store the status data receivedfrom access device 108 until the next time access device 108 updates itsstatus by sending new/updated status data to network device 308. Cachemay be used for storage within network devices 302-308 and/or accessdevices within the local area network 400 so that each of the devicesmay be able to quickly retrieve the data it needs from storage. Anapplication operating on the access device 108 can access the cache toobtain information to display the visual interface for each networkdevice 302-308 registered within the network 400. Although a cachingdevice may be used to store such data within the network and/or accessdevices within the local area network 400, other types of storage may beused.

The cache can contain a known interface list including interfaceinformation for different, known types of devices. The known list caninclude a record for each network device known by the access device 108to exist on the network 400. When an application is run on the accessdevice 108, the access device 108 can access the known interfaces in thecache to present the display of access device 108. The display canpresent one or more visual interfaces, each corresponding to a networkdevice known to exist on the network 400. Each visual interface can begenerated based on a visual interface module corresponding to eachdevice on the network 400. In an example, the display can include avisual interface (e.g., a module tile) for each device in the network400 having an interface in the known interface list.

The cache can also contain known status information about each networkdevice in the known device list. When the application is run on theaccess device 108, the access device 108 can access the known statusinformation in the cache to present a status display. The access device108 can populate each tile with an indicator representing the respectiveknown status information for each device in the known device list. Thestatus display can include an indicator of one or more attributes, oneor more settings, or a combination thereof related to operation of eachdevice in the network 400. For example, the status display can include aspeed of a fan (e.g., a fan speed of 56 in a range of values between 0and 100) of the network device 302 (e.g., a fan), a value of sensitivityof a sensor (e.g., a value of 34 in a range of values 0-100) for thenetwork device 304 (e.g., a motion sensor), a value of brightness (e.g.,65 percent brightness) for the network device 306 (e.g., a light bulb),and a value of temperature (e.g. a slow cooker). Although shown ashaving a single indicator for an attribute or a setting related tooperation of a network device, the status display can present aplurality of indicators corresponding to different attributes and/orsettings related to operation of a network device.

In some embodiments, the cache can include other information about anetwork device. The other information can indicate a device's firmwareversion, last known firmware update status, connectivity to cloudstatus, registration status (e.g., whether the network device has a keyor not), and other such information. The cache can include informationthat could be used for troubleshooting. In embodiments described below,the access device 108 can access status information from another otherdevice on the network 400 and can use that information to update its owncache, update the status display, and/or pass the information to thecloud network 114 and/or the gateway 110 for trouble shooting and/orstorage.

Even though each network device may know and store (e.g. in cache) thestate of each other network device within local area network 400, anetwork device may not know when another network device changes status(e.g. turns/powers off). However, network devices and/or access deviceswithin local area network 400 may broadcast/send any updates in itsstatus to other devices on the network. For example, if network device302 changes status, it may send status data to the other networkdevices, such as network devices 304, 306 and 308 and to access device108. However, network device 302 may not know which devices to updatesince the other devices may change statuses periodically (e.g. turnoff).

Therefore, a network or access device may subscribe to another networkor access device within local area network 400. For example, networkdevices 304, 306 and 308 and access device 108 may subscribe to statusdata notifications/updates from network device 302. Such a subscriptionmay be registered for upon initial connection with network device 302when network device 302 first enters local area network 400 or at anyother time after network device 302 has been associated with local areanetwork 400. Subscriptions may be controlled to last indefinitely or mayexpire after a certain predetermined period of time after initialsubscription. However, network devices may re-subscribe to anothernetwork device before or after their previous subscription has expired.

Subscriptions between network device and/or access devices may beregistered, similar to registering a network device upon initialentrance into the local area network, including security registrationsdescribed herein with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2. For example, a networkdevice may send its unique security key, which it may have stored alongwith its network ID after being registered on the network, to a networkdevice to which it wants to subscribe. However, subscriptions may takeon many other forms, including sending a different form ofidentification to a network device to which a network device wants tosubscribe. However, subscriptions may take on many other forms,including sending a different form of identification to a network deviceto which a network device wants to subscribe.

Upon receiving a subscription from another network device or accessdevice, the device being subscribed to may store a list of the devicesthat subscribed to it. For example, network device 302 may store a listof network devices 304, 306 and 308 and access device 108 after thosedevices subscribe to network device 302. Then, when network device 302undergoes a change in status, network device 302 may send that change instatus to only the devices that had previously subscribed to it butwhere the subscription had not yet expired. Furthermore, according tosome embodiments, the subscription list of a network device may beautomatically updated if that device receives notification that anotherdevice has left the range of the local area network, either from thatdevice itself or from a different device. Therefore, the various deviceswithin a given local area network, such as network 400, each containcontinuously updated statuses of each other device on the network andobtain those statuses and updates through direct communication withoutnecessary use of the cloud.

FIG. 5 illustrates an access device 108 that is located remotely fromnetwork 500 (e.g. local area network), according to embodiments of thepresent invention. Local area network 500 includes gateway 110 andnetwork devices 502 and 504 (which may be, for example, the same as anyof network devices 302-308 in FIGS. 3 and 4), as shown in FIG. 5.However, network 500 may also include a variety of other network devicesand one or more access devices directly connected to network 500.Gateway 110 is connected to cloud network 114, and allows networkdevices 502 and 504 to connect to cloud 114, the internet, or otherexternal networks via gateway 110. In some embodiments, the networkdevices 502 and 504 may include home automation devices that allow auser to access, control, and/or configure various home applianceslocated within the user's home, such as a television, radio, light,microwave, iron, and/or the like.

Access device 108 is not directly connected to network 500. Instead,access device 108 is external to network 500 and may connect to cloudnetwork 114 and to network 500 via cloud network 114. As noted, networkdevices 502 and 504 may change status on a periodic basis. In someembodiments, even when external to and not directly connected to network500, an access device may request to check the status of the devices onthe network. When access device 108 seeks to check the status of anydevice on the network, the access device 108 may transmit/send acommunication 536 to the cloud network 114, to which all devices on thenetwork are connected either directly or indirectly via gateway 110.Since the cloud network 114 stores an updated table/list of the statusesof each of the devices within the requesting access device's network,the cloud network 114 may transmit a communication 538 of such statusdata to the access device 108. For example, after network devices 502and 504 are turned on, authenticated and are a part of network 500,network devices 502 and 504 may communicate their statuses to cloudnetwork 114. Furthermore, any time the status of network devices 502 and504 changes, the device that incurred a status change may push/sendinformation (e.g. an indication) of that status change to cloud network114. Cloud network 114 may store, in cache 526 or otherwise, thestatuses (which may be time stamped in metadata or otherwise) of networkdevices 502 and 504. Therefore, when access device 108 requests fromcloud network 114 the statuses of devices on network 500, cloud 114 maysend its most recently stored/updated statuses to access device 108.

To obtain the most updated status data of devices within network 500,cloud 114 may, upon receiving a request for status data related tonetwork devices 502 and 504, transmit/send a communication 532 (e.g.request, query, etc.) for such status data to network devices 502 and504 via gateway 110. Once network devices 502 and 504 receive thisrequest, network devices 502 and 504 may send a communication 534 (e.g.updated status data) to cloud 114 to replace the previouslystored/cached statuses in cache 526. Upon receipt of updated status data534 from network 500, cloud 114 may send a communication 538 of suchstatus data to the access device 108.

However, the process of cloud network 114 requesting updated statusesfrom network devices 502 and 504 within network 500 may cause latencywithin the system. More specifically, the time required for cloudnetwork 114 to request updated statuses from network devices 502 and 504and to in turn receive updated statuses from network devices 502 and 504may be substantially greater than the time required for cloud network114 to send its currently stored statuses (without being updated) fornetwork devices 502 and 504 to access device 108. For example, of thetotal time required for access device 108 to receive updated statusesfrom cloud network 114, 80% or more of that total time may include cloudnetwork 114 requesting updated statuses from network devices 502 and504. On the other hand, of the total time required for access device 108to receive updated statuses from cloud network 114, 20% or more of thattotal time may include the status data being transmitted from cloudnetwork 114 to access device 108. Since a majority of the processrequired for access device 108 to request and receive status data fornetwork devices 502 and 504 is the transmission of data between cloud114 and network devices 502 and 504, the access device 108 and cloudnetwork 114 may maximize efficiency by minimizing the effect of thetransmission of data between cloud 114 and network devices 502 and 504on the whole process/system.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a front view of a network device 600.FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a side view of the network device 600.The network device 600 may include any of the network devices 102, 104,or 106 described herein. In some embodiments, the network device 600 maybe a home automation network device. For example, the network device 600may include a home automation switch that may be coupled with a homeappliance. A user may wirelessly access the network device 600 in orderto access, control, and/or configure various home appliances locatedwithin the user's home. For instance, the user may remotely controlappliances such as a television, radio, light, microwave, iron, spaceheater, wall A/C unit, washer, dryer, fan, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the network device 600 may include a WiFi enabledswitch that connects home appliances and other electronic devices to acompatible 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi network. The network device 600 may thusallow users to locally or remotely turn devices on or off from anywhere,program customized notifications, and/or change device status. Thenetwork device 600 may further allow a user to create custom schedulesor have devices respond to sunrise or sunset.

The network device 600 includes an power switch 602 that may bedepressed in order to turn the network device 600 on and off. In someembodiments, a light source may be integrated with or located behind thepower switch. For example, a light-emitting diode (LED) may be locatedon a circuit board under the power button 602. The light source may beilluminated when the network device 600 is powered on, and may not beilluminated when the network device 600 is powered off

The network device 600 further includes a communications signalindicator 604. The signal indicator 604 may indicate whether the networkdevice 600 has access to a communications signal, such as a WiFi signal.For example, the signal indicator 604 may include a light source (e.g.,a LED) that illuminates when the network device 600 is connected to acommunications signal. The light source may depict different colors orother characteristics (e.g., flashing, dimming, or the like) to indicatedifferent levels of signal strength or mode of operation.

The network device 600 includes a restore button 710. The restore button710 may allow a user to reset the network device 600 to factory defaultsettings. For example, upon being depressed, the restore button 710 maycause all software on the device to be reset to the settings that thenetwork device 600 included when purchased from the manufacturer.

The network device 600 further includes a plug 708 and an outlet 606.The plug 708 allows the network device 600 to be plugged into a wallsocket, such as a socket providing 120V, 220V, or the like. In turn, anappliance may be plugged into the outlet 606. Once the network device600 is registered according to the techniques described above, anappliance plugged into the socket 606 may be controlled by a user usingan access device (e.g., access device 108).

FIG. 8 is an example of a block diagram of the network device 600depicting different hardware and/or software components of the networkdevice 600. As described above with respect to FIGS. 6 and 7, thenetwork device 600 includes the outlet 606, the plug 708, the powerbutton 602, the restore button 710, and the communications signalindicator 604. The network device 600 also includes light source 828associated with the power button 602. As previously described, the lightsource 828 may be illuminated when the network device 600 is powered on.

The network device 600 further includes a relay 810. The relay 810 is aswitch that controls whether power is relayed from the plug 708 to theoutlet 606. The relay 810 may be controlled either manually using thepower button 602 or remotely using wireless communication signals. Forexample, when the power button 602 is in an ON position, the relay 810may be closed so that power is relayed from the plug 708 to the outlet606. When the power button 602 is in an OFF position, the relay 810 maybe opened so that current is unable to flow from the plug 708 to theoutlet 606. As another example, an application or program running on anaccess device may transmit a signal that causes the relay 810 to beopened or closed. For instance, an access application may display agraphical interface on the access device that includes a power button.The user may tap or otherwise select the power button, and the accessapplication may send a communication signal (e.g., over a WiFi network)to the network device 600 instructing the network device 600 to open orclose the relay 810.

The network device 600 further includes flash memory 820 and dynamicrandom access memory (DRAM) 822. The flash memory 820 may be used tostore instructions or code relating to an operating system, one or moreapplications, and any firmware. The flash memory 820 may includenonvolatile memory so that any firmware or other program can be canupdated. In the event the network device 600 loses power, informationstored in the flash memory 820 may be retained. The DRAM 822 may storevarious other types of information needed to run the network device 600,such as all runtime instructions or code.

The network device 600 further includes a CPU/Radio 818. The CPU/Radio818 controls the operations of the network device 600. For example, theCPU/Radio 818 may execute various applications or programs stored in theflash memory 820 and/or the dynamic random access memory (DRAM) 822. TheCPU/Radio 818 may also receive input from the various hardware andsoftware components, interpret the input, and perform one or morefunctions in response to the input. As one example, the CPU/Radio 818may determine whether the power button 602 has been pressed, anddetermines whether the relay 810 needs to be opened or closed. TheCPU/Radio 818 may further perform all communications functions in orderto allow the network device 600 to communicate with other networkdevices, one or more gateways, a cloud network, and/or one or moreaccess devices. While the CPU and radio of the network device 600 areshown to be combined in the CPU/Radio 818, one of ordinary skill in theart will appreciate that, in some embodiments, the CPU and radio may beseparately located within the network device 600. For example, CPUcircuitry may be situated at a separate location on a circuit board fromthe location of radio circuitry, the CPU circuitry may be located on adifferent circuit board from the radio circuitry, or the like. Further,the network device 600 may include multiple radios that are configuredto communicate using one or more communication protocols, such as anycombination of a WiFi™ transceiver radio, a Bluetooth™ transceiverradio, a Zigbee™ transceiver radio, a UWB transceiver radio, aWiFi-Direct transceiver radio, a BLE transceiver radio, and/or any otherwireless network transceiver radio or interface. In some embodiments,the network device 600 does not include a cellular network transceiverradio or interface, and thus may not be configured to directlycommunicate with a cellular network. In some embodiments, the networkdevice 600 may include a cellular network transceiver radio, and may beconfigured to communicate with a cellular network using the cellularnetwork transceiver radio.

The network device 600 may communicate with other devices and/ornetworks via antenna 824. For example, antenna 824 may include a 2.4 GHzantenna, a 5 GHz antenna, or the like, that can transmit and receiveWiFi communications signals. The network device 600 may include othertypes of antennas that can communicate Bluetooth® signals, Zigbee®signals, Ultra-Wideband (UWB) signals, WiFi-Direct signals, BLE signals,and/or the like. In some embodiments, the antenna 824 may be configuredto communicate different types of signals, such as the WiFi signals,Bluetooth® signals, Zigbee® signals, UWB signals, WiFi-Direct signals,BLE signals, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the network device600 may include multiple antennas for communicating the different typesof communication signals. As one example, the network device 600 mayinclude both a 2.4 GHz antenna and a 5 GHz antenna.

The network device 600 further includes a driver 816, a switching powersupply 812, and a voltage regulator 814. The driver 816 may includeinstructions or code that can be used to translate control signals orcommands received from applications running on the DRAM 822 to commandsthat the various hardware components in the network device 600 canunderstand. In some embodiments, the driver 816 may include an ambientapplication running on the DRAM 822. The switching power supply 812 maybe used to transfer power from the outlet in which the plug 708 isconnected to the various loads of the network device 600 (e.g.,CPU/Radio 818). The switching power supply 812 may efficiently convertthe voltage and current characteristics of the electrical power to alevel that is appropriate for the components of the network device 600.For example, the switching power supply 812 may perform AC-DCconversion. In some embodiments, the switching power supply 812 may beused to control the power that is relayed from the plug 708 to theoutlet 606. The voltage regulator 814 may be used to convert the voltageoutput from the switching power supply 812 to a lower voltage usable bythe CPU/Radio 818. For example, the voltage regulator 814 may regulatethe DC voltage from 5V to 3.3V.

In various embodiments, functions may be stored as one or morecomputer-program products, such as instructions or code, in anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium, such as the flash memory820 and/or the DRAM 822. The network device 600 can also comprisesoftware elements (e.g., located within the memory), including, forexample, an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries,and/or other code, such as one or more application programs, which maycomprise computer programs implementing the functions provided byvarious embodiments, and/or may be designed to implement methods and/orconfigure systems, as described herein. Merely by way of example, one ormore procedures described with respect to the processes discussed above,for example as described with respect to FIG. 2, may be implemented ascode and/or instructions executable by a computer (and/or a processorwithin a computer); in an aspect, then, such code and/or instructionscan be used to configure and/or adapt a general purpose computer (orother device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with thedescribed methods. Such functions or code may include code to performthe steps described above with respect to FIG. 2. The memory, such asthe flash memory 820 and/or the DRAM 822, may be a processor-readablememory and/or a computer-readable memory that stores software code(programming code, instructions, etc.) configured to cause aprocessor(s) within the CPU/Radio 818 to perform the functionsdescribed. In other embodiments, one or more of the functions describedmay be performed in hardware.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium, such as the flash memory820 and/or the DRAM 822. In some cases, the storage medium might beincorporated within a computer system, such as the CPU/Radio 818. Inother embodiments, the storage medium might be separate from a computersystem (e.g., a removable medium, such as a compact disc), and/orprovided in an installation package, such that the storage medium can beused to program, configure and/or adapt a general purpose computer withthe instructions/code stored thereon. These instructions might take theform of executable code, which is executable by the network device 600and/or might take the form of source and/or installable code, which,upon compilation and/or installation on the network device 600 (e.g.,using any of a variety of generally available compilers, installationprograms, compression/decompression utilities, etc.) then takes the formof executable code.

Substantial variations may be made in accordance with specificrequirements. For example, customized hardware might also be used,and/or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software(including portable software, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further,connection to other access or computing devices such as networkinput/output devices may be employed.

It should be appreciated that the network device 600 may have othercomponents than those depicted in FIGS. 6-8. Further, the embodimentshown in the figures are only one example of a network device that mayincorporate an embodiment of the invention. In some other embodiments,network device 600 may have more or fewer components than shown in thefigure, may combine two or more components, or may have a differentconfiguration or arrangement of components.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of an access device 900. The access device900 may include any human-to-machine interface with network connectioncapability that allows access to a network. For example, the accessdevice 900 may include a stand-alone interface (e.g., a cellulartelephone, a smartphone, a home computer, a laptop computer, a tablet, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a computing device, a wearable devicesuch as a smart watch, a wall panel, a keypad, or the like), aninterface that is built into an appliance or other device (e.g.,television, refrigerator, security system, game console, browser, or thelike), a speech or gesture interface (e.g., Kinect™ sensor, Wiimote™, orthe like), an internet of things (IoT) device interface (e.g., anInternet enabled appliance such as a wall switch, a control interface,or the like). The access device 900 includes hardware elements that canbe electrically coupled via a bus 918 (or may otherwise be incommunication, as appropriate). In one embodiment, the bus 918 can beused for the processor(s) 902 to communicate between cores and/or withthe memory 912. The hardware elements may include one or more processors902, including without limitation one or more general-purpose processorsand/or one or more special-purpose processors (such as digital signalprocessing chips, graphics acceleration processors, and/or the like);one or more input devices 916, which can include without limitation acamera, a mouse, a keyboard, a touch sensitive screen, a touch pad, akeypad, and/or the like; and one or more output devices 914, which caninclude, without limitation, a display, a printer, and/or the like.

The access device 900 may include one or more wireless transceivers 906connected to the bus 918. The wireless transceiver 906 may be operableto receive wireless signals (e.g., signal 910) via antenna 908. Thewireless signal 910 may be transmitted via a wireless network. In someembodiments, the wireless network may be any wireless network includingbut not limited to a wireless local area network (e.g., local areanetwork 100), such as WiFi, a Personal Access Network (PAN), such asBluetooth®, Zigbee®, or UWB, or a wide area network, such as a cellularnetwork (e.g. a GSM, WCDMA, LTE, CDMA2000 network), a cloud network, theInternet, or other network. Wireless transceiver 906 may be configuredto receive various radio frequency (RF) signals (e.g., signal 910) viaantenna 908 from one or more gateways, network devices, other accessdevices, cloud networks, and/or the like. Access device 900 may also beconfigured to decode and/or decrypt, via the DSP 904 and/or processor(s)902, various signals received from one or more gateways, networkdevices, other access devices, cloud networks, and/or the like.

The access device 900 may further include (and/or be in communicationwith) one or more non-transitory machine-readable storage mediums orstorage devices (e.g., memory 912), which can comprise, withoutlimitation, local and/or network accessible storage, and/or can include,without limitation, a disk drive, a drive array, an optical storagedevice, a solid-state storage device such as a random access memory(“RAM”) and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can be programmable,flash-updateable and/or the like. Such storage devices may be configuredto implement any appropriate data storage, including without limitation,various file systems, database structures, and/or the like.

In various embodiments, functions may be stored as one or morecomputer-program products, such as instructions or code, in memory 912,such as RAM, ROM, FLASH, or disc drive, and executed by processor(s) 902or DSP 904. The access device 900 can also comprise software elements(e.g., located within the memory 912), including, for example, anoperating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and/or othercode, such as one or more application programs, which may comprisecomputer programs implementing various functions. Memory 912 may be anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium, processor-readablememory, and/or a computer-readable memory that stores the one or morecomputer-program products configured to cause the processor(s) 902and/or DSP 904 to perform the various functions. In other embodiments,the various functions described may be performed in hardware.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a server 1000. The server 1000includes hardware elements that can be electrically coupled via a bus1016 (or may otherwise be in communication, as appropriate). In oneembodiment, the bus 1016 can be used for the processor(s) 1002 tocommunicate between cores and/or with the memory 1012. The hardwareelements may include one or more processors 1002, including withoutlimitation one or more general-purpose processors and/or one or morespecial-purpose processors (such as digital signal processing chips,graphics acceleration processors, and/or the like), memory 1012, DSP1004, a wireless transceiver 1006, a bus 1016, and antenna 1008.Furthermore, in addition to the wireless transceiver 1006, server 1000can further include a network interface 1014 to communicate with anetwork (e.g., a local area network, a network of a preferred carrier,Internet, etc.).

The server 1000 may further include (and/or be in communication with)one or more non-transitory machine-readable storage mediums or storagedevices (e.g., memory 1012), which can comprise, without limitation,local and/or network accessible storage, and/or can include, withoutlimitation, a disk drive, a drive array, an optical storage device, asolid-state storage device such as a random access memory (“RAM”) and/ora read-only memory (“ROM”), which can be programmable, flash-updateableand/or the like. Such storage devices may be configured to implement anyappropriate data storage, including without limitation, various filesystems, database structures, and/or the like.

In various embodiments, functions may be stored as one or more one ormore computer-program products, such as instructions or code, in memory1012. The server 1000 can also comprise software elements (e.g., locatedwithin the memory), including, for example, an operating system, devicedrivers, executable libraries, and/or other code, such as one or moreapplication programs, which may comprise computer programs implementingthe functions provided by various embodiments, and/or may be designed toimplement methods and/or configure systems, as described herein. Merelyby way of example, one or more procedures described with respect to theprocesses discussed above may be implemented as code and/or instructionsexecutable by a computer (and/or a processor within a computer); in anaspect, then, such code and/or instructions can be used to configureand/or adapt a general purpose computer (or other device) to perform oneor more operations in accordance with the described methods. Suchfunctions or code may include code to perform the steps described abovewith respect to FIG. 2. The memory 1012 may be a non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium, processor-readable memory, and/or acomputer-readable memory that stores the one or more computer-programproducts configured to cause the processor(s) 1002 to perform thefunctions described. In other embodiments, one or more of the functionsdescribed may be performed in hardware.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium, such as the memory 1012.In some cases, the storage medium might be incorporated within acomputer system. In other embodiments, the storage medium might beseparate from a computer system (e.g., a removable medium, such as acompact disc), and/or provided in an installation package, such that thestorage medium can be used to program, configure and/or adapt a generalpurpose computer with the instructions/code stored thereon. Theseinstructions of one or more computer-program products might take theform of executable code, which is executable by the server 1000 and/ormight take the form of source and/or installable code, which, uponcompilation and/or installation on the server 1000 (e.g., using any of avariety of generally available compilers, installation programs,compression/decompression utilities, etc.) then takes the form ofexecutable code.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a gateway 1100. The gateway 1100 mayinclude a range extending device, a router, an access point, a modem,and/or any other device that provides network access among one or morecomputing devices and/or external networks. For example, the gateway1100 may include a router gateway with access point and routerfunctionality, and may further include an Ethernet switch and/or amodem. As another example, the gateway 1100 may include a rangeextending gateway that may be used to improve signal range and strengthwithin a network by taking an existing signal from another gateway(e.g., a router gateway, an access point, or the like) andrebroadcasting the signal to create a second logical network.

The gateway 1100 includes hardware elements that can be electricallycoupled via a bus 1118 (or may otherwise be in communication, asappropriate). In one embodiment, the bus 1118 can be used for theprocessor(s) 1102 to communicate between cores and/or with the memory1112. The hardware elements may include one or more processors 1102,including without limitation one or more general-purpose processorsand/or one or more special-purpose processors (such as digital signalprocessing chips, graphics acceleration processors, and/or the like);one or more input devices 1116, which can include without limitation oneor more buttons, a keyboard, a keypad, a touch sensitive screen, a touchpad, and/or the like; and one or more output devices 1114, which caninclude, without limitation, a display, light or sound indicators,and/or the like.

The gateway 1100 may include one or more wireless transceivers 1106 and1120 connected to the bus 1118. The wireless transceiver 1106 may beoperable to receive wireless signals (e.g., a wireless signal 1110) viaan antenna 1108. The wireless transceivers 1120 may be operable toreceive wireless signals (e.g., a wireless signal 1114) via an antenna1122. The wireless transceivers 1106 and 1120 may each include a WiFitransceiver radio designed to transmit and receive signals usingfrequencies of a specific frequency band, which may be referred toherein as “WiFi circuits.” For example, wireless transceiver 1106 mayinclude a 2.4 GHz WiFi circuit, and wireless transceiver 1120 mayinclude a 5 GHz WiFi circuit. Accordingly, the gateway 1100 may includea single WiFi circuit for a first WiFi frequency band, and a single WiFicircuit for a second WiFi frequency band. In some embodiments, thegateway 1100 may include multiple wireless transceivers (not shown) foreach available frequency band. The antennas 1108 and 1122 may includemultiple band antennas that can transmit and/or receive signals overdifferent frequency bands.

The gateway 1100 may further include radio frequency (RF) circuit 1126.In some embodiments, the wireless transceivers 1106 and 1120 may beintegrated with or coupled to the RF circuit 1126 so that the RF circuit1126 includes the wireless transceivers 1106 and 1120. In someembodiments, the wireless transceivers 1106 and 1120 and the RF circuit1126 are separate components. The RF circuit 1126 may include a RFamplifier that may amplify signals received over antennas 1108 and 1122.The RF circuit 1126 may also include a power controller that may be usedto adjust signal amplification by the RF amplifier. The power controllermay be implemented using hardware, firmware, software, or anycombination thereof.

The wireless signals 1110 and 1124 may be transmitted via a wirelessnetwork. In some embodiments, the wireless network may be any wirelessnetwork including but not limited to a wireless local area network(e.g., local area network 100), such as WiFi™, a Personal Access Network(PAN), such as Bluetooth®, Zigbee®, or UWB, or a wide area network, suchas a cellular network (e.g. a GSM, WCDMA, LTE, CDMA2000 network), acloud network, the Internet, or other network. Wireless transceivers1106 and 1120 may be configured to receive various radio frequency (RF)signals (e.g., signals 1110 and 1124) via antennas 1108 and 1124,respectively, from one or more other gateways, access devices, networkdevices, cloud networks, and/or the like. Gateway 1100 may also beconfigured to decode and/or decrypt, via the DSP 1104 and/orprocessor(s) 1102, various signals received from one or more gateways,network devices, cloud networks, and/or the like.

The gateway 1100 may include a power supply (not shown) that can powerthe various components of the gateway 1100. The power supply may includea switch-mode power supply, a linear power supply, a push-pull powersupply, or any other suitable type of power supply. In some embodiments,the gateway 1100 may include multiple power supplies. For example, aswitch-mode power supply may be used to condition input power, and alinear power supply may be used to power the RF circuit 1126. The powersupply may be configured to operate over various ranges of appropriateinput voltages.

The gateway 1100 may further include (and/or be in communication with)one or more non-transitory machine-readable storage mediums or storagedevices (e.g., memory 1112), which can comprise, without limitation,local and/or network accessible storage, and/or can include, withoutlimitation, a disk drive, a drive array, an optical storage device, asolid-state storage device such as a random access memory (“RAM”) and/ora read-only memory (“ROM”), which can be programmable, flash-updateableand/or the like. Such storage devices may be configured to implement anyappropriate data storage, including without limitation, various filesystems, database structures, and/or the like.

In various embodiments, functions may be stored as one or morecomputer-program products, such as instructions or code, in memory 1112,such as RAM, ROM, FLASH, or disc drive, and executed by processor(s)1102 or DSP 1104. The gateway 1100 can also comprise software elements(e.g., located within the memory 1112), including, for example, anoperating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and/or othercode, such as one or more application programs, which may comprisecomputer programs implementing the functions provided by variousembodiments, and/or may be designed to implement methods and/orconfigure systems, as described herein. Merely by way of example, one ormore procedures described with respect to the processes discussed above,for example as described with respect to FIGS. 1-11, may be implementedas code and/or instructions executable by a computer (and/or a processorwithin a computer); in an aspect, then, such code and/or instructionscan be used to configure and/or adapt a general purpose computer (orother device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with thedescribed methods. Such functions or code may include code to performthe steps described above with respect to FIGS. 1-11. The memory 1112may be a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium,processor-readable memory, and/or a computer-readable memory that storesthe one or more computer-program products configured to cause theprocessor(s) 1102 to perform the functions described. In otherembodiments, one or more of the functions described may be performed inhardware.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium, such as the memory 1112.In some cases, the storage medium might be incorporated within acomputer system. In other embodiments, the storage medium might beseparate from a computer system (e.g., a removable medium, such as acompact disc), and/or provided in an installation package, such that thestorage medium can be used to program, configure and/or adapt a generalpurpose computer with the instructions/code stored thereon. Theseinstructions of one or more computer-program products might take theform of executable code, which is executable by the gateway 1100 and/ormight take the form of source and/or installable code, which, uponcompilation and/or installation on the gateway 1100 (e.g., using any ofa variety of generally available compilers, installation programs,compression/decompression utilities, etc.) then takes the form ofexecutable code.

Accordingly, techniques and systems are described herein for usingsensors and measurements from sensors to trigger actions within anetwork. Specifically, various techniques and systems are provided formeasuring usage, using sensors, of utilities (e.g. water, energy, gas,electricity, power, light, ink, etc.), generating profiles based on theusage, and triggering actions within a network device based on the usageand profiles. Alternatively, sensors may be used to take measurementsother than for the use of a utility. For example, sensors may be used tomeasure the temperature read at a thermostat, carbon monoxide at acarbon monoxide detector, motion at a motion detector, smoke at a smokedetector, brightness of a light, or other measurements or objectivemeasures within other types of control systems. This disclosuredescribes compiling historical usage based on the use or measurementsdetected by a network device and generating a usage profile based onthat use or measurements. The usage profile may be considered “normal”because it is compiled from historical data that may indicate a patternor consistent use by the user or users. The normal usage profile may becompared with the usage over a certain predetermined period of time todetect any abnormal use or measurements from the network device (e.g.the utility being used or detected by the network device). Any abnormalor other measured usage or current profile may be used to notify a user(e.g. via an access device) of the abnormality or may be used to take anaction within the network (e.g. the network device). Examples of suchactions include adjusting or turning off a network device, restrictingaccess to the network by the network device, rejecting any attempts madeby the network device to connect to any other network device, warningother devices on the same network or device(s) and/or services on theinternet of the suspected abnormal behavior of the network device, amongothers. Furthermore, the profiles may be dynamically updated based onthe detected use over time.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a network 1200, according toembodiments of the present invention. The network 1200 includes agateway 110, a network device 302, a network device 304, and an accessdevice 108. The network 1200 may also include a sensor, such as sensor1212 or sensor 1214. A sensor may be external to, but connected to, anetwork device, such as sensor 1212 (which is connected orcommunicatively coupled to network device 302). Alternatively, a sensormay be included within a network device, such as sensor 1214 (which is apart of network device 304). Network devices 302 and 304 may beconnected or communicatively coupled to gateway 110, to access device108, and/or to each other. Examples of such connections or couplings areshown as arrows in FIG. 12.

A sensor, such as sensor 1212 or sensor 1214, may be any device thatdetects events or changes in events or quantities. Some different typesof sensors may include sensors that detect or are sensitive to: light,motion, temperature, humidity, moisture, vibration, sound, gas, toxins,chemicals, nutrients, bodily functions or vitals, video surveillance,pressure, magnetic force, acceleration (e.g. by an accelerometer),orientation (e.g. by a gyroscope), IR, among many others. Sensors may bebroken down into two different categories. First, a sensor may be abinary sensor. A binary sensor may only be able to detect or sensechanges in a binary status. For example, a binary sensor may only beable to detect whether a network device or another type of device is onor off. However, a binary sensor may not be able to detect any othercharacteristics of such a device, such as variations or ongoing trendsof the device. On the other hand, a sensor may be a sensor that is ableto detect other characteristics of the device. For example, a sensor maybe able to detect or sense variations in the device or environment beingsensed. For example, a sensor may be able to detect the temperature in aroom, or the trend of the temperature in a room over time. In anotherexample, a sensor may be able to detect the level at which the dimmer ofa light or light switch is set.

Although certain types of network devices and utilities may be describedand/or used in examples or embodiments herein, any number of differentnetwork devices and utilities may be used within embodiments of thepresent invention

A sensor, such as sensor 1212 or sensor 1214, may also provide anoutput, such as a notification or other communication, corresponding tothe detected event or quantity (hereinafter collectively “event”). Forexample, after sensor 1214 detects something about network device 304(e.g. that network device 304 is low on power), sensor 1214 may transmita notification or other type of communication to another part of networkdevice 304. In another example, after sensor 1212 detects somethingabout network device 302 or about its environment (e.g. if networkdevice 302 is a thermostat, sensor 1212 may detect that the temperaturein the environment around sensor 1212 has changed), sensor 1212 maytransmit a notification or another type of communication to networkdevice 302. The sensor may also transmit a notification or othercommunication to other devices on the network or to external devicesoutside the network so that such devices know about the sensedcondition. Network device 302 or 304 may also transmit a notification orother communication to other devices on the network or to externaldevices outside the network.

The output from a sensor corresponding to the detected event may be usedfor purposes other than to notify the network device (and, for example,a user or owner of the network device) that the detected event occurred.For example, the output from a sensor (e.g. a notification or othercommunication) may trigger an action by a network device (e.g. thenetwork device that it is connected to or a part of, or another networkdevice). For example, an output from sensor 1212, which includes anindication (or notification or other communication) of a detection of anevent by sensor 1212, may trigger an action by network device 302.

An action by a network device, such as network device 302, may betriggered by a determination that one or more events detected by asensor, such as sensor 1212, is abnormal. A sensor may monitor a networkdevice or its surrounding environment over an extended period of time,and may collect/compile data related to the network device or itssurrounding environment over that period of time. Alternatively, anotherdevice may compile the data collected while the sensor is monitoring thenetwork device and/or its surrounding environment. The sensor may,therefore, compare that historical data over time, and/or other datadetermined or calculated from the compiled data, with data collected atany one point in time. In another example, the sensor may compare thathistorical data over time, and/or other data determined or calculatedfrom the compiled data, with data collected over a shorter amount oftime. Such comparisons may allow for the sensor to determine that thedata from the point in time or shorter amount of time is abnormalcompared to the historical data it collected. The comparisons,calculations, determinations, etc. described herein may also beperformed by an entity other than the sensor itself For example, theymay be performed by a network device or a cloud network communicativelycoupled to the sensor, or another entity. More specifically, a cloudnetwork may aggregate patterns (e.g. average patterns) of similar orlike devices from a particular location, region, country, or evenglobally. For example, the cloud network may aggregate patterns acrossevery network device that it is connected to or has access to, or asubset of the set of network devices that it is connected to or hasaccess to.

The historical data may be captured in multiple different ways. Forexample, a device usage profile may be generated based on the historicaldata. Such a profile may represent the use (or other characteristic) ofa network device over a minute, an hour, a day, multiple days, a weeks,a month, a year, or a different amount of time. The usage profile mayrepresent patterns or other indications of types of use of theutility/network device. For example, the profile may characterize theuse of a thermostat network device each minute for an example week.Alternatively, one or more thresholds may be determined, where crossingthe one or more thresholds are representative of an abnormal event basedon the historical data, and data at a point in time may be compared tothe one or more thresholds. These example embodiments of the presentinvention will be discussed in turn with respect to the followingfigures.

FIGS. 13A, 13B and 13C illustrate tables showing example profiles for ashowerhead network device, according to example embodiments of thepresent invention. FIG. 13A illustrates a table 1300A, which includes a“normal” water profile for the showerhead. In other words, table 1300Aincludes a profile for the showerhead that may have been generated basedon historical data taken by a sensor either within the showerheadnetwork device or communicatively coupled/connected to the showerheadnetwork device. The profile may be representative of the “normal”, oraverage, use of water flowing through the showerhead over an extendedperiod of time. The normal profile may allow an entity, such as thenetwork device or any other device configured to analyze usage of theshowerhead, to determine that usage of the showerhead is or has beenabnormal.

Table 1300A includes time ranges that, when combined, span one full day,and a range of amounts of gallons of water associated with each timerange. For example, the normal profile shows that between 12:00 AM and6:35 AM, between 0 and 0.2 gallons of water flow through the showerhead.The range of 0.02 gallons may include the amount of water used each day(between 12:00 AM and 6:35 AM) for an extended period of time (e.g. theentire history of the sensor associated with the profile).Alternatively, the range may include only a subset of the amounts ofwater used each day for that extended period of time. For example, therange may only include frequently occurring amounts of water over thatperiod of time, or may exclude outlier amounts of water used.

The profile may be divided up into a variety of different time rangesand/or a variety of different numbers of time ranges. For example, table1300A includes 10 time ranges, but an alternative profile may include 8,9, 11, 12 or any other number of time ranges. Furthermore, each timerange may span any amount of time and may span any time of day.Furthermore, the profile may include time ranges that span, whencombined, a larger or smaller amount of time than exactly one full day.For example, the time ranges in a profile may span one hour, two days,one week, or any other amount of time.

FIG. 13B illustrates a table 1300B, which includes a profile for Monday,Jan. 15 for the showerhead. FIG. 13C illustrates a table 1300C, whichincludes a profile for Monday, Jun. 15 for the showerhead. Each oftables 1300B and 1300C include “abnormal” data as compared to table1300A. For example, table 1300B shows that 4.8 gallons of water wereused between 12:00 AM and 6:35 AM, which is well outside the normalrange of 0 through 0.2 gallons (as shown in table 1300A in FIG. 13A.Therefore, when a device (e.g. the sensor, the network device connectedto the sensor, a cloud network, etc.) compares the water profile intable 1300B to the normal water profile in table 1300A, the device mayconclude that an abnormal amount of water was used on January 15 between12:00 AM through 6:35 AM.

An example reason that the normal water profile for the showerheadindicates that only 0-0.2 gallons of water are used during 12:00 AM and6:35 AM is that the owner of the showerhead may be sleeping during thattime (since 12:00 AM-6:35 AM is a typical time for people to besleeping. An increased number of gallons used during that time periodmay indicate to the system that the showerhead is being used abnormallyduring that time period on that day. For example, the system mayconclude that, such an abnormal use may include unauthorized use ormistaken use of the shower or showerhead during that time. In anotherexample, the system may conclude that, such an abnormal use may includea failure of the showerhead (e.g. a leak). If the system determines thatto be the case, the device performing the analysis (e.g. the sensor) maytransmit a communication to the showerhead network device to indicate tothe showerhead network device that the showerhead should be turned offto prevent any further unauthorized or mistaken use. For example, thesensor or other device may determine that, based on the water usage datacollected, that water flowed through the showerhead consistently overthe period of time between 12:00 AM and 6:35 AM. The sensor maytherefore determine that water was leaking out of the showerhead, andthat the flow of water through the showerhead was unintended by its useror owner. For example, a user may have used the shower that ended justbefore 12:00 AM (or another specific time within the range) and left thewater on such that it dripped from the showerhead starting at 12:00 AM(or the other specific time within the range). The sensor may,therefore, transmit a notification to the network device because of thisdetermination.

However, abnormal use may not necessarily indicate a problem (e.g.unauthorized or mistaken use) that needs to be fixed. In other words,the sensor may determine (or another device may determine for thesensor) that an abnormal event has taken place, but the sensor may notsubsequently transmit a notification or other communication to thenetwork device because it is determined that the use of the networkdevice, even if abnormal, was not unauthorized or not unintended. Forexample, table 1300B shows that 1.4 gallons of water were used between10:15 PM and 11:59 PM. In comparing table 1300B to 1300A, the sensor (oranother device) may determine that the showerhead is not usually usedmuch if at all during that time period, and that the 1.4 gallons ofwater used during that time is abnormal. However, the sensor may alsoanalyze and determine, based on the historical data it has collected,that the user of the showerhead network device always (or almost alwaysor regularly) uses between 1.3 and 1.5 gallons of water when the usertakes a shower. Therefore, the sensor may determine that the user tookan abnormal shower later in the evening than the user normally does, butthat the use was authorized.

Furthermore, the sensor may analyze the use of the showerhead between12:00 AM and 6:35 AM and determine that that use was also authorized.For example, if, based on the collected data from January 15, the usewas over a very short period of time (as opposed to being consistentover a longer period of time, indicating a drip), the sensor maydetermine that the 4.8 gallons of water used during that time period wasonly used within a 3 minute subset time period between 12:00 AM and 6:35AM. Such use may indicate to the sensor that the use was authorizedand/or that the use was halted after the 3 minute time period expired.Therefore, the sensor may refrain from transmitting a notification orindication or other communication to the showerhead network device thatthe showerhead should be turned off

Table 1300C in FIG. 13C also shows an abnormal use, for example between7:58 AM and 6:05 PM. The normal profile, as shown in FIG. 13A, showsthat the showerhead is usually used very little during that time period.Therefore, similar to the data shown in table 1300B, the use of 33-34gallons of water may be determined to be an abnormal use. For example,the high use of water during that time period may indicate to the sensorthat the showerhead is broken (e.g. that the showerhead is allowingwater to flow at a high rate). Such a determination may cause the sensorto send a notification to the network device, and/or may cause thesensor to send a notification to the user directly (e.g. via an accessdevice, such as access device 108 shown in FIG. 12). However, if theprofile shown in table 1300C were for an outdoor spigot network deviceinstead of a showerhead, the sensor may analyze the data and calculatethat the 33-34 gallons used were used to water the grass by thesprinkler system connected to the spigot. If, for example, Jun. 15 isthe first day of sprinkler usage, the sensor may come to such aconclusion using, for example, data from past years (e.g. if Jun. 15 ora day close to Jun. 15 showed data with a high amount of water usage,and such usage continued throughout the summer months).

Although a sensor (or another entity, such as a network device, cloudnetwork, etc.) may analyze the current and/or historical data associatedwith usage of a utility and make determinations based on that analysis,the entity may also store predetermined profiles (e.g. “normal” profilesbased on the type of device and/or the user(s) of the device),predetermined conclusions based on certain types of generated profiles,and predetermined notifications or other communications to be sent to apredetermined set of devices (e.g. network device, access device, etc.)based on the analyzed data and resulting conclusions. For example, auser (e.g. a manufacturer of a network device) may assign or store apredetermined “normal”, “normal operating”, or “abnormal operating”profile. Such predetermined profiles may allow for a comparison betweena measured or recorded profile and a normal or abnormal limit profile.Such a predetermined profile may be used so that the user can benotified any time the use/status of the network device goes outside theparameters of the profile set by the user. For example, a user may wantto be notified if another user is using more than a certain amount ofwater in the shower (including the showerhead). In another example, auser may choose a certain set of network and/or other devices for thesensor (or other device analyzing the sensor data) to which the userwants notifications sent. The user may also predetermine which devicesshould receive notifications for certain types of events, and forcertain types of events for certain network devices.

As noted, one or more thresholds may be determined, where crossing theone or more thresholds are representative of an abnormal event based onthe historical data, and data at a point in time may be compared to theone or more thresholds. In such an embodiment, the abnormal event,determined by current data crossing one or more thresholds, may triggeran event by, for example, a connected network device (e.g. turning thenetwork device off). As compared to a profile (e.g. as described withrespect to FIGS. 13A-13C), which may include a broad picture of the“normal” use of a device which may include a compilation of numbersand/or ranges, a threshold may be a single number or quantity.

Various different types of thresholds may be used in such an embodiment.For example, a threshold may represent a value that, when surpassed atany time, triggers a notification and/or an event. For example, athreshold for a thermostat network device may include a certaintemperature that the user sets so that the user can be notified when thetemperature in the home (as monitored by the sensor) drops below orraises above that threshold temperature. Alternatively, the thermostatnetwork device may turn on/off the air conditioning or heat when thetemperature drops below or raises above the threshold temperature.

In another alternative example, a threshold may combine a more complexpattern of usage that limits the number of threshold events within agiven period of time. For example, for a device such as an engine ormotor (or one that includes an engine or motor, such as in a car or blowdryer), a threshold may include that the engine or motor should not revbeyond 5 KRPM for a period of over 5 minutes. In another example, athreshold may include that the engine or motor should not rev more than10 times above 5 KRPM over a contiguous 5 min time period. The examplenumbers used in these examples are examples only, and any other timeperiods or other amounts may be used or set (e.g. by a user ormanufacturer), or may be changed dynamically by the device itself basedon, for example, historically stored amounts. In other words, thethresholds may actually combine multiple thresholds or include athreshold with a contingency or condition that must be met before thethreshold is considered met or surpassed.

In another example embodiment, a threshold may represent a total amountof a utility that is consumed or used over a certain predeterminedperiod of time. For example, a threshold for a showerhead network devicemay include a certain amount of water that the user sets so that theuser can be notified when the amount of water used (as monitored by thesensor) raises above the threshold amount of water. Alternatively, theshowerhead network device may turn off the flow of water through theshowerhead when the amount of water raises above the threshold amount ofwater.

In another example embodiment, a threshold may be conditional. Morespecifically, a threshold may represent a value that, when surpassed,triggers a notification and/or an event, but only when an additionalevent takes place at the same time. For example, a threshold for athermostat network device may include a certain temperature that theuser sets so that the user can be notified when the temperature in thehome (as monitored by the sensor) drops below or raises above thatthreshold temperature, but only if the temperature crosses the thresholdat a certain time of day. In another example, a threshold for ashowerhead network device may include a certain amount of water that theuser sets so that the user can be notified when the amount of water used(as monitored by the sensor) raises above the threshold amount of water,but only if the threshold is surpassed before the 25^(th) day of anygiven month. In another example, a threshold for a showerhead networkdevice may include a certain amount of water that the user sets so thatthe user can be notified when the amount of water used (as monitored bythe sensor) raises above the threshold amount of water, but only if thethreshold is surpassed (from zero to the threshold) within a certainpredetermined amount of time. For example, a condition may include thatthe trigger occur if a showerhead sensor senses that 28 gallons of waterhave flowed through the showerhead within a 3 hour span of time. Variousother types of thresholds may also be possible according to embodimentsof the present invention.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example timeline 1400 showing a time at which athreshold was crossed and periods of time before and after the thresholdwas crossed, according to example embodiments of the present invention.Timeline 1400 includes three hash marks that represent three differentpoints in time. One hash mark is at time t₀, which represents the timethat a threshold is met. A second hash mark is at time t₀−n whichrepresents the beginning of a period (that ends at t₀)of time before thethreshold is met. A third hash mark is at time t₀+m, which representsthe end of a period of time (that begins at t₀) after the threshold ismet.

Although, as noted, a trigger (to a notification/communication and/oranother action by a network device) may be based on the crossing of athreshold, further analysis may also be performed before the triggercomes into effect. More specifically, the change in status of a networkdevice may only warrant a triggered event if the change in statusindicates certain types of trends before (leading up to) and/or afterthe change in status caused the threshold to be crossed. For example, athreshold could be set for a thermostat network device at 72 degreessuch that the air conditioning may turn on after the threshold iscrossed. However, if the sensed temperature dropped from 80 degrees to71 degrees, the air conditioner may not be desirable because the trendof the temperature before the threshold was crossed is that thetemperature was dropping. In an alternative example, if the sensedtemperature dropped from 80 degrees to 71 degrees, the air conditionermay not be desirable if, for example, the temperature raises back up to73 degrees immediately after the threshold was crossed.

Referring back to FIG. 14, the periods of time n and m may be analyzedto avoid unwanted triggers based on a sensor sensing the use/status of autility that surpasses a predetermined threshold. For example, theperiod of time n, which took place directly before time t₀, the timewhen the threshold was exceeded, may be analyzed. More specifically, theperiod of time n may be analyzed to determine if, during the timebetween t₀−n and t₀ (hereinafter “time period n”), the sensor senseduse/status of the network device (or use/status of a utility used by thenetwork device) that is consistent (or not consistent) with the need totrigger an event by the network device. In other words, the time periodn may be analyzed to conclude that the trend of the use/status of theutility before it exceeded the threshold is consistent (or notconsistent) with the desire of the user for that exceeding of thethreshold to trigger a desired event. For example, the network device(or sensor or other device) may determine that a use/status of a utility(e.g. electricity, water, etc.) gradually increased during time periodn, indicating that such a trend will continue and that the triggeredevent is appropriate. More specifically, for example, a sensor connectedto a crock pot network device may, based on recorded data, determinethat the crock pot was using a certain amount of electricity (which maycorrespond to a certain temperature inside the crock pot) consistentlyover an entire 15 hour period (an example time period n). From thisdata, the sensor (or the network device) may determine that since thethreshold of 15 hours was exceeded, the crock pot should be turned off.Alternatively, a sensor connected to a showerhead network device maydetermine that 28 gallons of water was used in a 3 hour period and the28 gallon threshold was reached. However, the exceeded threshold may notbe determined to be an appropriate trigger for turning off the showerhead (i.e. the flow of water through the showerhead) because theshowerhead had not been used for an hour and the showerhead had onlybeen in use, at the time the trigger was reached, for 2 minutes. Asimilar analysis may be performed using data collected during the timeperiod between t₀ and t₀+m (hereinafter “time period m”).

Variables originating from outside the sensor readings may also beconsidered when analyzing whether an exceeded threshold should cause asubsequent event by a network device. For example, such variables mayinclude the current time of year, current time of day, currenttemperature, historical data received or recorded by the sensor or othersensors, among many others. For example, if a threshold for a sensorconnected to a thermostat network device is set at 72 degrees and thecurrent temperature, as recorded by the sensor, drops from 73 degrees to71 degrees, the network device may choose not to turn the heat on if,for example, the temperature outside the home that includes the sensoris 95 degrees. For example, the sensor may determine that thetemperature throughout the room or the house did not actually drop from73 degrees to 71 degrees, and instead an alternative situation causedsuch a temperature drop next to the sensor (e.g. a fan blew directly onthe sensor for a few seconds).

FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate graphs illustrating the use/status orstatus of a utility over time, according to embodiments of the presentinvention. FIG. 15A illustrates a graph 1500A showing the use of autility over time from t₀−n to t₀+m, according to embodiments of thepresent invention. The axes of the graph include the amount of theutility on the y-axis and time on the x-axis. As shown by graph 1500A,between time t₀−n and time t₀, the use of the utility increases from anamount less than the threshold T (as represented by the amount ofutility at the x-axis line) to the amount of the threshold T. Betweentime time t₀ and t₀+m, the use/status of the utility increases from anamount equal to the threshold T to an amount greater than the thresholdT. However, between time t₀ and t₀+m, the use/status of the utilityincreases from the amount of the threshold T to an amount more than thethreshold T, and then to an amount less than the threshold T, and thento an amount more than the threshold T, and again to an amount less thanthe threshold T before increasing to an amount more than the threshold Tpermanently. If a network device (or other device) did not analyze thetime period after the utility exceeded the threshold T before allowingthe exceeded threshold to trigger an event, then an event would betriggered five times in a very short amount of time. Such a situationmay cause damage to the network device, may cause discomfort or otherunwanted situations for a user of the network device, among many otherpossible undesirable situations. In other words, the fluctuation of theuse/status of a utility around the amount of threshold T may cause suchundesirable situations. For example, if a thermostat network device hasa threshold T of 72 degrees, and the temperature sensed by a sensorconnected to the network device senses a temperature in consecutiveminutes of 71.9. 72.0, 71.7, 72.3, 71.8, 72.1, 71.9 and 72.5, thesurpassed threshold may trigger an event 7 times in a short amount oftime (e.g. 5-7 minutes or less).

Such situations may be prevented by integrating analysis of the timeperiod n and/or the time period m into the process of deciding whetheror not to trigger an event based on a surpassed threshold. Examplemethods of such analysis are described herein with respect to FIG. 14.For example, the analysis may include an analysis of the utility amountsat t₀−n and at t₀+m as shown by hash marks in FIG. 15A. However, onlyanalyzing certain points in time before the time that the amount ofutility exceeded the threshold T may lead to inconsistent analysis.Therefore, analysis may be performed on sub-periods of time beforeand/or after threshold time t₀. FIG. 15B illustrates a graph 1500Bshowing the use of a utility over time from t₀−n to t₀+m, according toembodiments of the present invention. Graph 1500B is similar to graph1500A, except that times t₀ −n and t₀+m in graph 1500B are at differenttimes than in graph 1500A. More specifically, times t₀−n and t₀+m ingraph 1500B are at times closer to threshold time t₀. With respect tothe particular plot 1501 showing the illustrated amount of utility overtime, analysis of times t₀−n and t₀+m in graph 1500B would reveal moreuseful information than at times t₀−n and t₀+m in graph 1500A becausetime t₀+m in graph 1500B reveals that the amount of utility decreased,after increasing to surpass the threshold T, to below threshold T. Thisconclusion may cause the sensor to refrain from sending a notificationor other communication to the network device as a trigger to tell orcause the network device to perform an event.

Although the process of analyzing a period of time before and a periodof time after a threshold is reached has been described herein withrespect to thresholds, the same or similar processes may be applied tothe embodiments using profiles (e.g. normal and current profiles) asdescribed with respect to FIGS. 13A-13C.

FIG. 16 illustrates a graph 1600 showing the use of a utility over time,according to embodiments of the present invention. The graph 1600includes a plot 1601 of amount of utility over time similar to the plots1501 in graphs 1500A and 1500B. Graph 1600 also includes two hash markson the y-axis (amount of utility), which represent two thresholds, T₁and T₂. Multiple thresholds, as shown in graph 1600, may also be used asa mechanism to ensure that analysis of the utility usage before and/orafter a threshold, such as T₁, is met. Threshold T₁ may be similar tothreshold T in FIGS. 15A and 15B. In other words, threshold T may be apredetermined threshold that, when crossed or exceeded, isrepresentative of an abnormal event and may trigger an event by, forexample, a connected network device. T₂, on the other hand, may be usedas a second threshold to confirm that the amount of utility continues toincrease (e.g. on its previous trend of increasing as of the time itcrossed the threshold T₁).

As shown in graph 1600, plot 1601 exceeds threshold T₁ at time t₀, butthen dips below threshold T₁ after time t₀ two times before remainingabove threshold T₁. In this embodiment of the present invention, thefact that the amount of utility exceeded threshold T₁ may not cause atrigger, due to the exceeding of threshold T₁, because the amount didnot exceed the second threshold, T₂. T₂ may be set a certainpredetermined amount above threshold T₁, given the nature of the utilityinvolved, such that the system can be reasonably sure that once theamount of utility exceeds threshold T₂ that it will not subsequentlydrop below threshold T₁ again.

In an alternative embodiment, instead of using a second threshold, thesystem may implement a pause or a delay after a threshold has beenexceeded before a notification or other communication is sent to theconnected network device. Such a delay or pause may allow the sensor toverify that the threshold is exceeded for a certain predetermined amountof time, and to verity that the threshold did not drop below thethreshold amount in that predetermined amount of time. Such a delay mayallow the system to gain confidence that the amount of utility willmaintain a level above the threshold level and will not drop below thethreshold level for at least an extended period of time. If therecorded/monitored amount of utility remains above the threshold levelthroughout the delay period, then the sensor may transmit a notificationor other communication to the network device to trigger an event by/atthe network device. Such a pause or delay may also take place at thenetwork device itself (or by a cloud network or another device ornetwork that is performing the data analysis with the data received fromthe sensor). In other words, for example, the sensor may transmit anotification to the network device immediately upon sensing that thethreshold was passed, but the trigger may not cause an event at thenetwork device until after the delay or pause has lapsed.

As noted, a determination that an abnormal event has occurred (using acomparison with a normal profile or with a threshold, for example) maycause the sensor to send a notification to the user directly. FIG. 17illustrates a network 1700 including a network device, a sensor and anaccess device, according to embodiments of the present invention. Asnoted, a sensor, such as sensor 1212, may provide an output, such as anotification or other communication, corresponding to the detectedevent. For example, after sensor 1212 detects an event about networkdevice 302 or about its environment, sensor 1212 may transmit anotification or another type of communication to devices on the networkor to external devices outside the network so that such devices knowabout the sensed condition. This notification may be transmitted, forexample, to access device 108 via transmission path 1712 as shown inFIG. 17. Network device 302 may also transmit a notification or othercommunication to other devices on the network or to external devicesoutside the network. This notification may be transmitted, for example,to network device 302 via transmission path 1714. Network device 302 maythen transmit the notification, or a separate communication indicativeof the notification, to access device 108, for example via transmissionpath 1716.

Furthermore, the output from a sensor (e.g. a notification or othercommunication) may trigger an action by a network device (e.g. thenetwork device that it is connected to or a part of, or another networkdevice). For example, an output from sensor 1212, which includes anindication (or notification or other communication) of a detection of anevent by sensor 1212, may trigger an action by network device 302. Forexample, the triggered action may include that the network device turnoff (or on). Alternative triggered actions may include the adjusting ofa setting within network device 302. However, various other triggeredevents are possible. Furthermore, the triggered event may be suggested,as opposed to caused, by the communication or other trigger from thesensor or network device. For example, user authorization or approvalmay be required for the suggested event to take place.

After a communication has been received by access device 108, accessdevice may display information representative of the notification orother communication on a display within the access device 108. Forexample, the access device may display information related to theutility usage, the utility usage compared to a threshold, the normaland/or current usage profiles, or any other information related to thenetwork device and/or sensor connected to the network device. The accessdevice 108 may also display a one or more queries for the user torespond to a suggested (conditionally) triggered event as received fromthe sensor or network device.

FIG. 18 illustrates example embodiments of a screenshot of an exampleuser interface (UI) display for an application on an access device,according to embodiments of the present invention. However, the exampleUIs are not limited to these example embodiments. In an embodiment ofthe invention, the visual interface illustrated in FIG. 18 is displayedon a mobile computing device, which can have a touch sensitive (i.e.,touch screen) display device. For ease of explanation, the monitoringand control operations discussed below with reference to FIG. 18 aredescribed in the context of an application executing on an access device108 with a touch-screen display device. However, the operations are notintended to be limited to the example device shown in FIG. 18. It is tobe understood that the user interface illustrated in the exampleembodiment of FIG. 18 can be readily adapted to be rendered on displaysof a variety of computing device platforms running a variety ofoperating systems. In FIG. 18, a display is shown with various tiles,interactive elements, icons, command regions, windows, toolbars, menus,and buttons that are used to initiate action, invoke routines, monitornetwork devices, control network devices, or invoke other functionality.The initiated actions include, but are not limited to, displaying astate or status of a network device, selecting a network device tocontrol and/or monitor, setting a primary function of a network device,setting a secondary function of a network device, and other inputs andgestures. For brevity, only the differences occurring within the figuresare described below.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example user interface display 1800 for anapplication on an access device, according to embodiments of the presentinvention. FIG. 18 discloses a list of usage warnings, including a powerusage warning for lamp network device 1802 and a water usage warning forshower/showerhead network device 1804. Display 1800 may displayidentification information related to the network device and usageinformation/data related to the network device that is relevant to theusage warnings. In other words, display device 1800 may displayinformation relevant for the user to be informed about the state orstatus of the network device. As noted, the display device 1800 may alsodisplay information related to predetermined thresholds, network deviceprofiles, among other related information.

The display may also show any information related to the usage or usagewarnings for the network devices to make an informed decision about howto react to the usage warnings. The display may, therefore, show anoptional button to allow the user to react to the warning, includingcausing an event at the network device. For example, display 1800includes slide buttons 1803 and 1805 to allow the user to turn off (anexample network device event) the lamp network device 1802 and/orshowerhead network device 1804, respectively. However, various otherbuttons that may cause various other events at the network device arepossible.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart 1900 showing an example process for a network todetect an abnormal event and to trigger an event at a network deviceusing an indication representative of that abnormal event, according toembodiments of the present invention. Step 1902 includes monitoring theuse of a utility by a network device. This step is optional because step1904A or 1904B may occur before the use is actually “monitored” over aperiod of time. Step 1904A includes compiling current usage data basedon the use of the utility by the network device over a predeterminedtime period. In other words, the network device may monitor the use of autility, either within our outside of the network device, and compile orcollect data based on that usage. Step 1906A includes generating acurrent usage profile of the network device based on the current usagedata. In that step, the compiled usage data may be analyzed and turnedinto a usage profile that may define what usage of that utility lookslike during that predetermined period of time. That time period mayinclude less than a second, several seconds, several minutes, or muchlonger.

Step 1904B includes compiling normal usage data based on the use of theutility by the network device, and step 1906B includes generating anormal usage profile of the network device based on the compiled normalusage data. Step 1904B is similar to step 1904A except step 1904B mayinclude compiling usage data over the history of the network device orof use of the utility so as to define what the usage of the utilitylooks like over a longer period of time. In other words, compilingnormal usage may include compiling data over a long enough period oftime to see a pattern of usage so that a “normal” usage profile may bedefined, as in step 1906B. In that step, the compiled usage data may beanalyzed and turned into a usage profile that may define what “normal”usage of the utility is over that period of time.

Step 1908 includes comparing the current usage profile to the normalusage profile. In this step, the usage profile generated in step 1906Ais compared to the usage profile generated in step 1906B. Morespecifically, the usage profile generated from data collected over apredetermined period of time is compared to the “normal” usage data, orhistorical usage data, to determine if the profile from thepredetermined time period is normal or if it is abnormal. Thisdetermination is queried in step 1910, which asks whether the currentusage abnormal as compared to normal usage.

If the answer to the query in step 1910 is “yes”, then the processproceeds to step 1912. Step 1912 includes sending an indication orturning off the network device. This step is performed because if thecurrent usage is deemed abnormal, the network device can notify the useror owner of the network device to tell the user that something is wrong,or can take action on its own and turn off the network device. Variousother actions are possible, such as adjusting the network device in someway (e.g. turning the utility up or down, etc.). On the other hand, ifthe answer to the query is “no”, then the process proceeds back to step1902 (or, alternatively, to step 1904A or 1904B) and to monitoring ofthe utility by the network device.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart 2000 showing an example process for a network todetect an abnormal event and to trigger an event at a network deviceusing an indication representative of that abnormal event, according toembodiments of the present invention. Step 2002 includes monitoring theuse of a utility by a network device. This step is optional because step2004 may occur before the use is actually “monitored” over a period oftime. Step 2004 includes compiling current usage data based on the useof the utility by the network device (e.g. over a predetermined timeperiod). In other words, the network device may monitor the use of autility, either within our outside of the network device, and compile orcollect data based on that usage.

Step 2006A includes setting a threshold amount of usage based on thecompiled usage data. The compiled usage data may be characterized as“normal” usage data, similar to that in step 1904B in FIG. 19. Thishistorical, or normal, data may be used to analyze what a normal orhistorically average amount of usage is, and a threshold amount of usagemay be determined based on that analysis. This threshold may be comparedto a current amount of usage, for or at a predetermined amount of time,to determine if the current usage is normal or abnormal. For thiscomparison, step 2006B includes determining a current amount of usage ata usage time. In other words, the network device may monitor the use ofa utility, either within our outside of the network device, and compileor collect data based on that usage at a specific predetermined time orover a predetermined period of time. For example, the current usageamount of time may be an accumulated amount of usage over a period oftime, and the amount of current usage is determined at a givenpredetermined time.

In step 2008, the current usage time is compared to the threshold amountof usage. In other words, the current usage at a predetermined time iscompared to the historical, or normal, usage of that utility. Thethreshold amount of usage is used to determine whether the currentamount of usage is normal or abnormal, based on the historical datacompiled over a (usually) longer period of time.

Step 1210 includes a query, which is related to step 2008, and askswhether the current usage abnormal as compared to the threshold amountof usage. If the answer to the query in step 2010 is “no”, then theprocess reverts back to step 2006B, for example. If the answer to thequery is “yes”, then the process proceeds to step 2012. Step 2012includes analyzing the usage data over a predetermined time period,wherein the predetermined time period occurred before (or during orafter) the current usage time. This analysis is used to determinewhether, for example, the trend or pattern existing just before (orduring or after) the threshold being crossed is consistent with the factthat the usage crossed the threshold. This step may be used to avoidfalse positives, such that while the usage crossed the threshold, theusage does not soon after re-cross the threshold in the oppositedirection such that the crossing of the threshold is not sustained formore than a very short period of time. This inquiry is explored in thequery in step 2014.

Step 2014 includes another query, which asks whether the current usageamount exceeded the threshold for an extended period of time. If theanswer to this query is “no”, then the process reverts back to step2006B, for example. . If the answer to the query is “yes”, then theprocess proceeds to step 2016, which includes sending a notificationand/or deactivating the network device. This step is performed becauseif the current usage is deemed as having crossed the threshold and willstay there for more than a short period of time, the network device cannotify the user or owner of the network device to tell the user thatsomething is wrong, or can take action on its own and turn off thenetwork device (for example, because it has deemed to be “abnormal”usage). Various other actions are possible, such as adjusting thenetwork device in some way (e.g. turning the utility up or down, etc.).

Although the above-referenced processes have been discussed in thecontext of usage of a utility, the processes may be used for other typesof situations. For example, instead of usage of a utility, the processesmay be used in the context of measuring an aspect of an environment,such as measuring the temperature.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart 2100 showing an example process for a network todetect an abnormal event and to trigger an event at a network deviceusing an indication representative of that abnormal event, according toembodiments of the present invention. Step 2102 includes compiling, by anetwork device on a network, usage data based on use of a utility by thenetwork device, wherein the usage data is compiled over a predeterminedtime period. Step 2102 may include monitoring the use of a utility,either within our outside of the network device, and compile or collectdata based on that usage over that predetermined time period. Step 2104includes generating a usage profile of the network device based on thecompiled usage data. In that step, the compiled usage data may beanalyzed and turned into a usage profile that may define what usage ofthat utility looks like during that predetermined period of time. Thattime period may include less than a second, several seconds, severalminutes, or much longer.

Step 2106 includes determining that the current usage data is abnormalbased on the usage profile. This step may include comparing the usageprofile based on any of a number of different methods, includingcomparing the usage profile to a normal usage profile or to a thresholdusage.

Step 2108 includes transmitting a communication based on determinationthat the current usage data is abnormal, wherein when the communicationis received, a state of the network device is changed, and whereinreceiving the communication facilitates changing the state of thenetwork device. In this step, the network device may transmit anindication to an access device of the user or owner of the networkdevice to tell the user that current usage is abnormal. Alternatively,this step may include taking action at the network device, such asshutting the network device down or making an adjustment within thefunctionality of the network device (e.g. changing a setting or turningthe utility up or down).

Substantial variations may be made in accordance with specificrequirements. For example, customized hardware might also be used,and/or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software(including portable software, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further,connection to other access or computing devices such as networkinput/output devices may be employed.

In the foregoing specification, aspects of the invention are describedwith reference to specific embodiments thereof, but those skilled in theart will recognize that the invention is not limited thereto. Variousfeatures and aspects of the above-described invention may be usedindividually or jointly. Further, embodiments can be utilized in anynumber of environments and applications beyond those described hereinwithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of thespecification. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to beregarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

In the foregoing description, for the purposes of illustration, methodswere described in a particular order. It should be appreciated that inalternate embodiments, the methods may be performed in a different orderthan that described. It should also be appreciated that the methodsdescribed above may be performed by hardware components or may beembodied in sequences of machine-executable instructions, which may beused to cause a machine, such as a general-purpose or special-purposeprocessor or logic circuits programmed with the instructions to performthe methods. These machine-executable instructions may be stored on oneor more machine readable mediums, such as CD-ROMs or other type ofoptical disks, floppy diskettes, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magneticor optical cards, flash memory, or other types of machine-readablemediums suitable for storing electronic instructions. Alternatively, themethods may be performed by a combination of hardware and software.

Where components are described as being configured to perform certainoperations, such configuration can be accomplished, for example, bydesigning electronic circuits or other hardware to perform theoperation, by programming programmable electronic circuits (e.g.,microprocessors, or other suitable electronic circuits) to perform theoperation, or any combination thereof.

While illustrative embodiments of the application have been described indetail herein, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may beotherwise variously embodied and employed, and that the appended claimsare intended to be construed to include such variations, except aslimited by the prior art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method, comprising: compiling, by a network device on a network, usage data based on the use of a utility by the network device; setting a threshold amount of usage based on the compiled usage data; determining a current usage amount at a current usage time; comparing the current usage amount to the threshold amount of usage; determining that the current usage amount has exceeded the threshold amount of usage; identifying, by the network device, a change in a function of the network device associated with the threshold amount of usage; analyzing, by the network device, the usage data over a first predetermined time period to identify a pre-threshold trend in the usage data, wherein the first predetermined time period occurred directly before the current usage time; analyzing, by the network device, the usage data over a second predetermined time period to identify a post-threshold trend in the usage data, wherein the second predetermined time period occurred directly after the current usage time; determining that, based on exceeding of the threshold amount of usage and the analysis of the usage data over the first and second predetermined time periods, the pre-threshold trend and the post-threshold trend are consistent with the change in the function of the network device associated with the threshold amount of usage; and applying, by the network device, the change in the function of the network device.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein compiling usage data includes monitoring the use of the utility by the network device over a period of time.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: compiling current usage data based on the use of the utility by the network device over a current predetermined time period.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the current usage amount at the current usage time includes determining an average amount of usage over a period of time from a point in time before the current usage time up until the current usage time.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the current usage amount at the current usage time includes determining a measurement by a sensor.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: setting a preliminary threshold amount of usage based on the compiled data usage; comparing the current usage amount to the preliminary threshold amount of usage; and determining that, based on comparing the current usage amount to the preliminary threshold amount of usage, the usage data over the predetermined time period should be analyzed to determine whether the network device should be adjusted.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: setting a waiting period of time when there is a determination that the network device should be adjusted; monitoring the usage data over the waiting period of time; and determining that the current usage amount has exceeded the threshold amount of usage for the duration of the waiting period of time.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein use of the utility is monitored by a sensor connected to the network device.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the sensor is external to the network device.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the change in function of the network device includes deactivating the network device.
 11. A computing device, comprising: one or more processors; and a memory having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to perform operations including: compiling, by a network device on a network, usage data based on the use of a utility by the network device; setting a threshold amount of usage based on the compiled usage data; determining a current usage amount at a current usage time; comparing the current usage amount to the threshold amount of usage; determining that the current usage amount has exceeded the threshold amount of usage; identifying, by the network device, a change in a function of the network device associated with the threshold amount of usage; analyzing, by the network device, the usage data over a first predetermined time period to identify a pre-threshold trend in the usage data, wherein the first predetermined time period occurred directly before the current usage time; analyzing, by the network device, the usage data over a second predetermined time period to identify a post-threshold trend in the usage data, wherein the second predetermined time period occurred directly after the current usage time; determining that, based on exceeding of the threshold amount of usage and the analysis of the usage data over the first and second predetermined time periods, the pre-threshold trend and the post-threshold trend are consistent with the change in the function of the network device associated with the threshold amount of usage; and applying, by the network device, the change in the function of the network device.
 12. The computing device of claim 11 wherein compiling usage data includes monitoring the use of the utility by the network device over a period of time.
 13. The computing device of claim 11, further comprising instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to perform operations including: compiling current usage data based on the use of the utility by the network device over a current predetermined time period.
 14. The computing device of claim 11, wherein determining the current usage amount at the current usage time includes determining an average amount of usage over a period of time from a point in time before the current usage time up until the current usage time.
 15. The computing device of claim 11, wherein determining the current usage amount at the current usage time includes determining a measurement by a sensor.
 16. The computing device of claim 11, further comprising instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to perform operations including: setting a preliminary threshold amount of usage based on the compiled data usage; comparing the current usage amount to the preliminary threshold amount of usage; and determining that, based on comparing the current usage amount to the preliminary threshold amount of usage, the usage data over the predetermined time period should be analyzed to determine whether the network device should be adjusted.
 17. The computing device of claim 11, further comprising instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to perform operations including: setting a waiting period of time when there is a determination that the network device should be adjusted; monitoring the usage data over the waiting period of time; and determining that the current usage amount has exceeded the threshold amount of usage for the duration of the waiting period of time.
 18. The computing device of claim 11, wherein use of the utility is monitored by a sensor connected to the network device.
 19. The computing device of claim 18, wherein the sensor is external to the network device.
 20. The computing device of claim 11, wherein applying the change in function of the network device includes deactivating the network device.
 21. A computer-program product tangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, including instructions configured to cause a data processing apparatus to: compile, by a network device on a network, usage data based on the use of a utility by the network device; set a threshold amount of usage based on the compiled usage data; determine a current usage amount at a current usage time; compare the current usage amount to the threshold amount of usage; determine that the current usage amount has exceeded the threshold amount of usage; identify, by the network device, a change in a function of the network device associated with the threshold amount of usage; analyze, by the network device, the usage data over a first predetermined time period to identify a pre-threshold trend in the usage data, wherein the first predetermined time period occurred directly before the current usage time; analyze, by the network device, the usage data over a second predetermined time period to identify a post-threshold trend in the usage data, wherein the second predetermined time period occurred directly after the current usage time; determine that, based on exceeding of the threshold amount of usage and the analysis of the usage data over the first and second predetermined time periods, the pre-threshold trend and the post-threshold trend are consistent with the change in the function of the network device associated with the threshold amount of usage; and apply, by the network device, the change in the function of the network device.
 22. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21 wherein compiling usage data includes monitoring the use of the utility by the network device over a period of time.
 23. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, further comprising instructions configured to cause the data processing apparatus to: compile current usage data based on the use of the utility by the network device over a current predetermined time period.
 24. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein determining the current usage amount at the current usage time includes determining an average amount of usage over a period of time from a point in time before the current usage time up until the current usage time.
 25. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein determining the current usage amount at the current usage time includes determining a measurement by a sensor.
 26. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, further comprising instructions configured to cause the data processing apparatus to: set a preliminary threshold amount of usage based on the compiled data usage; compare the current usage amount to the preliminary threshold amount of usage; and determine that, based on comparing the current usage amount to the preliminary threshold amount of usage, the usage data over the predetermined time period should be analyzed to determine whether the network device should be adjusted.
 27. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, further comprising instructions configured to cause the data processing apparatus to: set a waiting period of time when there is a determination that the network device should be adjusted; monitor the usage data over the waiting period of time; and determine that the current usage amount has exceeded the threshold amount of usage for the duration of the waiting period of time.
 28. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein use of the utility is monitored by a sensor connected to the network device.
 29. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 28, wherein the sensor is external to the network device.
 30. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein applying the change in function of the network device includes deactivating the network device. 